Daddy Dearest
by freakyanimegal
Summary: Lloyd had told him once, once before he betrayed them, how he imagined his father was like. He did not fit that description, that ideal man his son imagined, and he would never be that man. At least, he had assumed he wouldn't...not literally.
1. Chapter 1

**One day I'll stop getting ideas for fanfiction.**

**However it doesn't appear to be anytime soon.**

…**Stop looking at me like that! Ensnared only has two more chapters! It's almost done! STOP JUDGING ME! DX**

**Enjoy n.n**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Russet eyes misted as the grave came into their gaze, the owner of said eyes approaching the stone in the garden under the cover of nightfall, the lights from the house extinguished, and the snoring detected with his angelic senses assured him that he was in no danger of being found out. He came to a halt at the gravestone, the white tails of his holy garb swaying before falling still, the angel forlornly looked upon the name carved into the surface, the name of his wife, the mother of his child, and the only woman he had ever loved.

With a sigh he knelt down before it, running his hand along her name, already lost in the world of his thoughts and his memories.

"I had heard Lloyd had come back to Sylvarant, " he stated softly, "Apparently he had been transported through the other-worldly gate…and I hear they have joined forces with the Renegades."

Of course, the stone did not reply, and Kratos sighed again, reaching into the fold of his uniform and pulling out the piece of metal he had kept around his neck for years. Flipping open the locket he gazed longingly into the picture, his wife smiling, holding their baby boy in her arms, his own arms around both of them.

"I worry for him, Anna," he whispered, his gaze to the babe in the picture, "he's just a child, he doesn't know what he is doing….though I'll admit he's been doing a surprisingly good job besides that fact."

Sighing again he lifted his gaze skyward, to the starts twinkling up ahead. His spiky locks shifted somewhat in the night breeze, his hands clenching tighter around the locket he held in his hand. It was a beautiful night, much like that one that had been not so long ago, back when Lloyd could stand to be in his presence…

_"Lloyd."_

_The teen jumped about a foot, whipping his head around in alarm and then taking a deep breath of relief when he saw who it was that had snuck up on him._

"_Geeze, Kratos, stop scaring me like that!" the brunette shook his head, attempting to calm himself down._

"_You are on nightwatch, you should have been watching," he scolded, his eyes narrowing slightly, "If you want to keep alive, you need to be aware of your surroundings at all times."_

"_Yeah yeah, I know," he sighed with a shake of his head, lifting his gaze skyward again._

"…"

"_It's a pretty night," Lloyd said, not looking at him, "You can see all of the stars really well."_

"_Indeed," he agreed._

"_It's on nights like this…I wonder about things," he muttered._

_He didn't elaborate, and Kratos went to dismiss him, perhaps scold him some more, but something stopped him. Instead, he asked._

"_What sort of things?" he asked softly, barely realizing he had found himself interested._

"_Well- you see…." Lloyd sighed, rubbing the back of his neck, "The only…real memory I have of my father, is on nights like this."_

_Kratos stiffened, but Lloyd didn't seem to notice and continued._

"_I remember I would sit on his shoulders and look at the stars with him," Lloyd closed his eyes, a soft smile coming to his face, "So I guess….on starry nights like this, I start thinking about him."_

"_And…what is it you think about?" _

_Why was he asking? There was no point in him finding out what it was Lloyd wondered about, was there? Why was he just causing himself more pain? _

"_Well," Lloyd frowned, lowering his head, "I guess I-…try to remember him."_

_He didn't respond._

"_It's just…" he continued, lost in his own thoughts, barely realizing what he was saying, "I remember some things, but it's not enough. So, well, sometimes I- I try to imagine what he looked like."_

_He choked._

_"I see," he managed to force in his usual monotone._

"_Well yeah, I guess it's kinda silly," he rubbed the back of his neck again, looking up at Kratos,._

_He hesitated just a second._

"_Not at all, he…is your father, of course you would be curious," he replied._

_Lloyd tilted his head a bit at him, as if surprised at the elder swordsman's reply, but despite that he carried on._

"_Well, yeah I guess," he frowned, then a small smile came to his face, his eyes misting a bit, "I try to imagine what he'd look like, now, after all this time."_

"…_And what do you imagine him like?" _

_Lloyd stared at him and Kratos could have smacked himself. Why draw this attention? Why did he even ask?_

"_I…" Lloyd frowned and then look up at the sky, "I guess…well, I remember he was tall. Tall and he was pretty broad too, I think."_

_The teen bit his lip and looked up at the stars again before closing his eyes, allowing his imagination and his words to shape the picture in his mind._

"_So I imagine him like that, with spiky hair, like mine, I guess," he smirked slightly, eyes still closed, "I imagine him looking kinda- well a lot like me, I guess, except old. I mean, he'd be like forty-something by now."_

_The smirk disappeared and he lowered his head, shoulders slouching._

"_So like that…brown hair like mine, I guess- y'know, where it wouldn't be gray…maybe a short bead, like Dad- y'know, Dirk, except not as hairy," he chuckled a bit to himself, smiling again, "I remember he was a swordsman, but I guess a lot of people are…."_

"_I see," Kratos said again, though it took much more effort to keep quiet this time._

"_I- I'm sorry," Lloyd shook his head, smiling weakly at him, "That was kinda- weird, forget I said anything."_

Kratos sighed and rubbed his face, looking into the locket again with a forlorn expression, scanning the picture of himself.

He wasn't anything like Lloyd imagined.

Tall, yes, a swordsman, yes, and the spiky hair bit, though that was debatable, as Lloyd had said it'd be more wavy, like his own. As for everything else?

Lloyd imagined his father…human; a brown-haired, graying, middle-aged human man. That was what he imagined, that was what he wanted, that's what made that hopeful smile flash across his face, gave him that peace of mind. Lloyd imagined a father who was human, who was fatherly, and who would be there for him.

Instead he had a treacherous immortal angel.

Kratos choked a bit and closed the locket in his hand, looking at the grave.

"I wish I could have been that, Anna," he whispered, "I wish I could have been the man you deserved, the father Lloyd…will never have."

Closing his eyes he got to his feet, unable to bear it any longer. He turned and took a step- then swayed, an overwhelming wave of dizziness washing over him. The man barely managed another step before he plummeted to the ground, his locket popping open on the forest floor and leaving him as out cold as the stone he had fallen on.

When he came to again, it was to the face of Dirk, Lloyd's foster father, the dwarf looking down at him with an eyebrow arched.

It had certainly been quite a find for the dwarf, finding this stranger unconscious on his property, much less in front of the grave. Was he a traveler? He had brown and green traveler's clothes, nothing fancy, though he did have a chain mail vest and some gauntlets to accompany the simple, functional sword at his hip. Still, he looked a little too old to be traveling around by himself, if the gray hairs told him anything; though he had to admit for a man in his mid-forties, he did look impressively hardy. Dirk doubted that the common group of bandits could take him down; he had the air of an experienced fighter. Perhaps an aging militiaman? He looked the part.

However, there were far more interesting things about this man.

For one, the locket around his neck, the picture of a younger version of himself next to a woman, that and the fact this scruffy faced stranger looked exactly how Lloyd would look in a little under thirty years.

"Oi, Lad," he said as he noticed the russet eyes open, "Arn'cha a little old to be getting' passed out drunk a' strangers' houses?"

The man sat up and groaned, a hand to his head, shaking it vigorously. He seemed pretty disoriented, if his tired and dazed expression was any indication.

"Are ya lost?" Dirk asked.

The man looked up at him and stared a minute, then blinked, shaking his head again.

"I- ugh…" he groaned again, swaying a bit.

"Woah now, calm down, yer wits aren' around ya," he frowned, "Come inside, why dont'cha?"

"Inside?" he repeated, his face furrowed as if he was trying to understand the word, but he didn't protest when Dirk helped him to his feet.

"Ay, inside," he nodded, leading him in, "Ay'll get ya a strong cup o' coffee, that'll wake ya up."

The stranger said nothing, and continued to be unresponsive up until Dirk put the cup of coffee before him. He blinked and looked up from the table, staring at Dirk.

"Go ahead, drink," Dirk nodded.

He stared at him a moment more before taking a drink and the choking, coughing wildly.

"Woah! Calm down there! Breathe!"

Dirk slammed him hard on the back and he coughed up the liquid and wiped his mouth, taking deep breathes to calm himself. He blinked once or twice and then looked into the cup…and then choked again, this time on nothing, his eyes widening dangerously.

"What the-?" he choked a gasp.

"…Are ya all right-?"

The man whipped his head around and stared at Dirk, then rapidly around the house, his eyes continuing to widen.

"E- Excuse me a minute," he whispered.

He dashed off into the bathroom and slammed the door before he could say anything else.

Inside, Kratos gaped at the mirror, his eyes wide as saucers, staring in shock at the reflection that looked back at him. Rapidly he felt his face and looked down at himself, then noticed his locket was still hanging from his neck in plain sight. He snatched it up and stared at the picture inside, the color bleeding from his face. This man in the picture- his arm around Anna, where he should have been…looked exactly like the man Lloyd had imagined. He didn't know who this man was….

But it was the same one staring back at him from the mirror.

**Typed a whole chapter and STILL my flight hasn't arrived **

**Well, guess that means I'll move onto chapter two**

**Review if you'd like **


	2. Chapter 2

**I am quite evil aren't I?**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

He leaned against the door, hand to his face, eyes closed and taking deep breathes as his body shook. Okay, control his breathing; he had to keep control. Did he know what was going on? No. Did he understand it? Certainly not. Even still he had to keep calm, he had to keep control-

"Are ya a'right in there?" Dirk's voice came, his fist pounding against the door.

He choked a bit and his body tensed, catching the glimpse of his reflection across from him in the mirror.

What was this? Who was this- he? Who was he now? Why did- no, keep calm, he had a situation to deal with right now. He had to keep Dirk off his trail; …name…he needed a name, a name and a reason- got it.

Taking a deep breath he exited the room, attempting to keep himself calm.

"I apologize," he said, trying to look casual, "I didn't feel well all of a sudden- I didn't mean to alarm you."

Dirk raised an eyebrow, scanning him, and only Kratos' years of keeping up lies kept his insecurity from being seen.

"Ya talk a mite fancy fer a traveler, don'tcha?" the dwarf asked.

"I wasn't always a traveler, sir," he said simply.

"Aye, ah see, ya don' have ta say anymore," Dirk nodded.

Kratos looked at him a moment and then sat himself back down at the table, glancing at his host at he did the same.

"Yer name, lad?" Dirk asked.

Kratos tweaked a bit at 'lad'. Granted the dwarf had called him that when they met before, but he had had the appearance of a younger male when that had happened. He was clearly older looking now- as a result of this- so why was he still being referred to as such?

"Pardon but I don't see why I'm being called that," he frowned a bit, scanning him. "I…am clearly not a child, as you can see."

"It's a habit ah'guess," the dwarf laughed, smiling, "I don' call anyone anything o'ther than that unless they're older than me, y'know. Sorry but it's just how ah talk. Now then…yer name?"

Hm, well that hadn't succeeded in throwing him off at all. Name. He asked for a name.

"Richard," he said, stating the name he had conjured up, "Richard Scott."

Though granted he had taken 'Scott' from Anna's last name…

"Ah see," Dirk nodded, scanning him again. "Now would ya mind tellin' me what yer doin' out here in the woods, Scott?"

"I lost my way," he said smoothly.

"Lost yer way and passed out at a woman's grave?"

"Yes," he said stiffly, though realized full well that he wouldn't drop the subject.

Truthfully he hadn't thought of a true viable excuse…but he had no choice but to go along with it now.

"Right," Dirk said, "I saw yer locket when I brought ya in, didn't mean ta, mind ya, but I noticed yer family picture."

Kratos froze.

"…"

Why was it he couldn't think of anything to say? This was- this was crazy, how had any of this happened? What was he supposed to say? He couldn't even make sense of this- was this some kind of trick? An illusion? A trap? But if it was…what did it matter? Yggdrasill and Cruxis already knew that Lloyd was his son….why would they be trying to do something like this? Even still this didn't seem like any kind of illusion…

"An' excuse mah for sayin' but…that woman looks an awful lot like the lady that is buried outside."

Any sense of control he still had promptly vanished.

Dirk scanned him and by his expression he had confirmed what he had suspected- though granted it was in a way that was both true and very, very wrong and the same time.

"Ah see," he said, "Yer his father ain't ya?"

"Wh-? I- I do not know what you are-"

"Lloyd," he said flatly, "that's yer son's name ain't it? The name of the kid in that picture o' yours."

Only a smack to the face could have gotten the same reaction. He tried to speak but his throat was dry, constricted, tight; he could barely breathe much less find it in him to speak. What was he supposed to say? What was he supposed to think? Was this all some kind of cruel joke by the fates? What kind of hell was this; that he became the man his son had envisioned as his father, and now was being called out as such! This was all some kind of nightmare, a dream-

…Or…was it…a dream come true?

The thought struck him and his flinched, his eyes widening a bit.

Did it matter…what was happening? How this had happened? Did it matter if...this was the case? Did it matter the reasons, when what he had wished for was happening right then and there?

Did it matter, and did he really…want to pass this up?

"Yah look jist like him" Dirk scanned him, "It's not hard to put the pieces tagether ya'know."

Why couldn't he speak? Why couldn't he think? Why was this happening? Why….why…

He could be his father.

His heart stopped.

He could be his father; he could really come out and be his father. It's not like he could go back to Cruxis like this anyway, and he- apparently it was obvious that he was Lloyd's father now. He could be his father! He could come out and tell him the truth- most of the truth, at any rate. He could tell him he was his father, he could tell him about his mother, about how he met her, saved her, fell in love with her and how he came into the world and how broken he was all these years when he had thought them dead…

No…there were still the lies, still the secrets, still his sins…

But….but…

He tried to say something, what, he wasn't sure. It didn't matter, because he choked on his breath and took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself. Then suddenly he was aware of a dampness on his cheeks.

No…no way…this couldn't be...

"Yah don' have ta- ah realize this is emotional fer ya," he heard Dirk say, "ta find yer son's home, and ah know findin' out a non-human like mahself raised him might be hard fer yah too, but yah don' have to be scared or nothin'. Lloyd is alive and ah know he'll be happy ta see yer alive yerself."

He choked again.

"I….I…"

He tried to think of something, but instead his words began to run away without his thoughts.

"How can I face him?" he whispered, hanging his head. "How can I possibly face him now?"

There was just another moment of silence as Kratos shook, clenching his fists.

"What's stoppin' yah?"

"What's-?" he opened his eyes, looking up at the dwarf. "What do you mean what's- stopping- I thought he was dead for fourteen years and I…find he's alive- I …I abandoned him."

"Yah thought he was dead, that's more than understandable in this world, with them Desian bastards," Dirk scowled, "That's not yer fault, ah can see…"

"How can you?" he snapped, growling just a bit, ignoring the itching in his eyes again. "How can you possibly say this isn't my fault-!"

He cut himself off in mid-shout, forcing himself to take deep breathes to calm himself. What was he doing…why was he losing control?

"Ah don' see a man that'd 'abandon' his family carryin' their picture around his neck," the dwarf said sternly, meeting his eyes.

Kratos met his eyes and found his mind blank, his tongue tied, and any frustration and rage replaced with some hollow feeling he couldn't- fear. He was afraid. Afraid of what exactly- …no he knew what he was afraid of.

"…" he closed his eyes, attempting to calm himself again. "I thought he was dead."

He repeated it, he knew there was no point in it, but he did. Why was that? Or was it he was finally breaking? After all this time, all these years, all the guilt and grief…was it right here and now he was finally losing control?

Dirk said nothing, rather just sat there and looked at the man and he tried to collect himself, shaking, his hand gripping his head.

"I can't," he finally whispered.

"Eh?"

"I can't see him," he said, "I can't intrude on his life this late- I failed to protect him and his mother. I failed, I can't see him, I don't deserve to-"

"Baloney!" Dirk scoffed, knocking his fist against the table.

Kratos flinched slightly, somehow the sound alarmed him. It shouldn't have though, it wasn't nearly as loud as things usually were- ….

Nothing was, as a matter of fact.

Oh no.

However he didn't get much time to think about that.

"Ah won' be hearin' such talk!" the dwarf scoffed, getting to his feet, though the affect was diminished by his diminutive stature. "He'll be happy as hell ta see ya, an' I won' have ya showin' up and then jist leavin' him, ya hear me?"

Kratos looked at him and then back down at the table, forcing himself to take calm breathes.

"He already has a father," he whispered.

His mind began to wander and he found himself thinking back to his conversation with Lloyd that night, then to other times spent with him, to when he carried the child in his arms…and how he had killed his mother, abandoned him, and betrayed him.

"How can he ever forgive me?" he whispered, eyes misted, barely realizing he had spoken out loud.

"Well ya won't know until ya speak ta him yerself," Dirk said.

Once again they fell to silence as Kratos tried to get his thoughts together, tried to make sense of his emotions and his situation.

Perhaps this was all a dream, he hadn't slept in years, but….perhaps he had somehow. What else could it be? Even so…

"Well ya'll find out soon enough," Dirk said, "He should be back soon."

He flinched, his eyes widening. Back-? No that was impossible! Lloyd was making the pacts, how could he be-?

"He said he and his friends'd be back today, said they had somethin' important to do."

Something important to do…of course, the summon spirits in Sylvarant. They went to make the pacts in Sylvarant- wait. No, if that's where they went, then they really could be back soon-

No. No he had to go.

He got to his feet and nearly headed for the door.

"Yer not tryin' ta leave are ya?" Dirk scowled. "I thought ya felt bad ya thought you abandoned him, and now yer tryin' to do it for real?"

His foot stopped and he almost stumbled forward, his body freezing in place.

Abandon…him…

No. No he didn't want to abandon him- he couldn't- but no! This was wrong! He couldn't do this, he wasn't- this man he had become wasn't Lloyd's father- …but…he was Lloyd's father, right? So…why couldn't he-? It was a lie, wasn't it? But if it was him and he really was Lloyd's father then…was it really a lie?

"He…" he choked, frowning, "He already has a father. He doesn't need me…"

"I'm thinkin' ya need ta wait for Lloyd ta decide that himself," Dirk said gently, but still stern.

Decide that himself? Could he really do that? Could he really deserve such a chance?

"Yer afraid, an' that's a'right," Dirk said. "but if yah don' stay, ah'll tell him about ya anyway…and as headstrong as he is he'll find yah."

"…His mother always was stubborn," he whispered, clutching the locket.

"Then ah'm guessin' that's where he got it," the dwarf smiled good-naturedly, "Speakin' of his mother…if yah really aren' sure if yah can do this, try ta think what she'd say to yah."

"…." He hesitated, looking back at him, "What she would..say…"

"If she knew yah finally found yer kid after all this time, what would she tell ya to do?"

Kratos looked at him a moment and a bitter laugh escaped him, his face falling as a sad smile graced his lips.

"She would have smacked me silly and told me to 'get in there and hug him', probably add some profanities too," he smirked weakly, remembering how he had thought she would do such when he first saw her grave.

But…he had been too weak, too cowardly to…

Still, this situation was different. What would she have wanted?

…She would want him to tell the truth. No- he couldn't do that- he just- Lloyd would never accept or believe it, for one. Especially now that he looked like this, he would never believe it…

Still conflicted, he found himself sitting down again, holding the locket tightly, trying to sort out his thoughts. Should he stay? Go? But if he stayed…but then, if he went, where could he go? He couldn't go back to Cruxis like this, and even if he could get back to Tethe'alla…

"Jist sit tight then," Dirk said, "Lloyd'll be back in a few hours-"

However, Dirk was wrong; seeing as the door just opened. Kratos froze solid, his eyes widening as the group entered, a tad sunburned and bits of sand still sticking to their hair and clothes.

"Lloyd-?" Dirk began.

"Hey Dad, you won't believe this, we ran right into a sandstorm, we couldn't even get to Triet-"

They locked eyes.

A dead silence fell over the room, and all either swordsman was aware of was the other. Kratos was frozen, staring at his son, feeling his body begin to shake slightly, despite his best efforts at control. Lloyd stared at him, his eyes wide, the brown orbs stuck in place before hastily scanning the man he looked at, like a scurrying mouse frantically searching a floor for the last crumb of cheese, the teen held that same panic, and yet that same hopefully desire that he would find what it was he was looking to see.

"…Dad?" he whispered, turning his head to Dirk, though his eyes didn't leave Kratos, "Who is this?"

Kratos swallowed, and then swallowed again. Why couldn't he breathe right? What was this? He had never had such problems controlling his body; not since he was human- ….of course. It had to be that…

"Why dontcha introduce yerself, eh?" Dirk said, looking at him, ignoring his adoptive son.

"Introduce…yourself-? Wait! Who- who are you?" Lloyd asked, taking a step forward, staring at the man sitting in his living room.

Was he really seeing this? This person in front of him looked just like- but that was impossible- could it really be? He looked exactly like- He swallowed, his heart beginning to pound in his chest, his throat constricting.

"Dammit, stop staring at me and tell me!" he shouted, clenching his fists.

Kratos hesitated and hung his head a moment, shaking a bit. He took a deep breathe and then stood up, frowning and turning to look at Lloyd again.

"My na-" his voice faltered and he swallowed, reinforcing his voice, "My name is Richard Scott."

Could he still back out of this? Could he have managed to get out of this now? Maybe, just maybe, but…the part of him that didn't want to had begun to win out.

"Richard…" Lloyd trailed, but the name obviously didn't seem to matter much, his eyes still scanning the man before him. "What are you…doing here, then?"

They looked at each other a minute and Kratos tried to speak, but stopped when he felt he would not be able to. He closed his eyes and his grip tightened around the locket in his hand- …

"I…know this is…uncomfortable," he managed, "I merely- I just-"

He stepped forward and slipped the locket off his neck, holding it out to Lloyd, who stared at it, then at him and then back at the piece of metal. Lloyd blinked and slowly took it, opening it up and looking inside.

"It's a family," he said dumbly, knowing what it meant deep down, but finding himself unable to confirm it.

"Yes," he said weakly, "My wife Anna…"

Lloyd jerked and looked up at him, his eyes widening dangerously, mouth slightly agape.

"A- Anna-?"

"And my…son…" he whispered.

There was no way he was getting out of this now.

"My son, Lloyd," he finished, bracing himself for a reaction.

Once again there was nothing but dead silence. Until Lloyd began to shake violently, gritting his teeth, locking eyes with him.

"You're my father," he said flatly, his body tensing.

"I- Lloyd, I know you must be upset-"

Kratos choked on his words, the younger swordsman having thrown his arms around his body in a crushing hug. The ancient man stared blankly at nothing, his body unresponsive, only aware of his son embracing him in a tight hug.

Was this really happening-?

"You're alive-! You're really- you're really alive!" the teen cried out in an euphoria.

He choked out a sound that he might have one time intended as a word, but he wasn't sure anymore. His body felt frozen, stiff, as if he had been turned into a statue right on the spot, his limbs stolid and immobile. What was he supposed to do? It felt like any and every bit of information in his mind had deserted him, like he was a child, new to the world with nothing to reference, nothing to look back on. So what was he to do?

"I can't believe it!" Lloyd drew back just a bit, still hugging him, his eyes wet with tears of joy and a grin plastered on his face. "You're really alive! You're my dad-! You're- you're-"

The look in Kratos' eyes cut him off, and for an instant of horror, the teen thought he had made some grave mistake. Seeing this flicker of despair, Kratos finally reacted. His arms wrapped around Lloyd in response, holding him close, and a sting began to develop in his eyes. He closed them and held Lloyd close, his voice coming out as a choking stutter, but coming out nonetheless.

"Lloyd- Lloyd-"

He wanted to say a million things right then. Many of which he wasn't even sure how to say at all. An apology, a confession, and to beg for forgiveness… Finally he went to apologize, went to say sorry, to spill his guts to his son, to tell him everything and tell him how sorry he was, tell him of all his crimes and then let the boy take out his vengeance.

Instead he said the thing he wanted to say most.

"I love you." he choked.

…**n.n**

…**I'll update something else soon, really (pouts)**

**Hope you liked**


	3. Chapter 3

**This chapter brought to you by my hatred of physics:**

**It ticked me off so bad I wrote instead of did the homework. :D**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. (May cause redness or swelling)**

After holding his son for the first time in years, he wasn't eager to let go, but let go he did. He held the teen at arm's length, looking at him, as if trying to reassure the fact that Lloyd really was standing right in front of him. The teen's eyes were wet with tears but he smiled nonetheless, looking at the man before him with the same intent, of reassuring himself he was really there.

"Lloyd….I…." Kratos began, at a loss.

"I- I can't believe this is really happening, you're alive," Lloyd sniffed, wiping his eyes, swallowing to settle himself, his eyes sparkly nonetheless, "I- I never thought that this'd- ever happen-"

He cut off and stared at Kratos a moment, making the man feel self-conscious suddenly. Kratos hesitated and went to step back, when Lloyd burst out in a nervous grin.

"I- Oh! Y- yeah- uhm…you met Da-? Er- uh-" he hesitated, looking between Kratos and Dirk, suddenly very nervous.

"Ah've met him, obviously," Dirk laughed, feeling rather happy due to the events, "Found'im outside at yer mother's grave, we had a talk."

Lloyd hesitated, looking between the two men. His early excitement had vanished and he was suddenly left with an expression that said very clearly that he had no idea what to do. The father that had raised him was in the room right along with the father he had thought he would never see alive.

"You don't- have to call me that, if you don't wish to," Kratos found himself saying, glancing aside as he did so, "I completely understand- after all, Dirk…is…your father."

Lloyd gripped his arm.

"Well so are you!"

He flinched.

Kratos turned and stared down at him, once again unsure if any of this was truly happening. Lloyd hesitated again, looking between the two men. Dirk smiled and got to his feet, heading toward the door.

"D-?" Lloyd started.

"Ah'm gonna go outside fer some air," he winked, "take yer time."

"Wh-?"

"Yes, I think we will too," Raine stated, looking at the others.

Despite this, she gave Kratos a wary glance, her eyes scanning him intently. The man looked back at her, unsure whether or not he should look away. She was suspicious; that must was obvious, and honestly he would have been surprised if she wasn't. However, her suspicion aside she thought it necessary to leave the two of them alone, if only briefly.

"What? Leave? Why, I'd like to stick around for the fireworks-" Zelos began.

"Zelos you jerk!" Sheena shouted.

"I believe it would be best of us to leave," Regal said, already out the door.

Presea followed and Genis, hesitating just a second, followed after her. The others all left, Lloyd unsure whether he should stop them. Colette sent him one last smile before she left, reassuring him silently. Raine scanned the duo one last time before excusing herself.

The door closed.

They were alone.

"I…s- so…" Lloyd spoke shakily, looking at him again.

Kratos merely looked back.

"I- you can sit down- uh- if you want," the teen said, gesturing to a chair ,his eyes not leaving his father.

Kratos hesitated and then did so, mentally cursing himself, though he could not bring himself to seriously consider leaving. How could he, now?

Lloyd smiled weakly and then sat down across from him, fidgeting, nervous.

"So- uh- I…"

Silence again.

Lloyd sighed, rubbing his face.

"Uhm…"

"…" Kratos sighed, "This is awkward for me as well, if that makes you feel any better."

Lloyd tweaked a bit, scanning his father a moment, a weak smile coming to his lips as he did so. The teen swallowed and cleared his throat, opening his mouth to say something, only to forget what it was he was going to say the instant he did so. Kratos wasn't looking at him, his gaze directed to the far side of the room, his hands closed tensely on his lap, his brow furrowed.

"Why won't you look at me?" Lloyd's voice finally broke the silence, soft.

Kratos flinched.

"…" Kratos frowned and then looked at him, ignoring the pang of guilt, "I- it is not because of anything you did- it is merely- …"

Lloyd tilted his head to the side, scanning him, blinking once or twice.

"You talk pretty….stiff," he frowned.

Kratos twitched; Lloyd noted it; flinching a bit himself.

"W- wait- not that that's a BAD thing or anything- I – I was just noticing- that's all-"

"Calm down, Lloyd," he said, frowning, "You didn't do anything wrong."

"Oh…"

More silence.

"I…am sorry if you thought I didn't want to…look at you," he said, his words strained, "It's not that. I just…"

Lloyd frowned.

"I know what it is," he said after a minute.

Kratos flinched, his eyes snapping open and looking at the teen, who was biting his lip, his face furrowed in a frown. The ancient swordsman felt his chest constrict, but managed to keep his appearance calm.

"You…do? You- know what?" he asked.

No- had he figured it out? Was he that obvious? Did he know who he was? Then why wasn't he yelling? Why wasn't he mad-

"This is about my mom isn't it?" he asked finally.

Kratos froze.

"Is that why you're…not looking at me? You feel guilty?" Lloyd asked quietly, his brown eyes flicking to Kratos' face.

"Lloyd-" he began, unsure.

"I know about it," he said, frowning again, "I know about what happened- how she died. I…I found out about what happened, when her exsphere…"

Kratos choked, staring at him, for once his mind drawing a blank.

"I know about it," he muttered, then looked up at him again, "But- but it wasn't your fault! It was Kvar's! He was the one that did that to her, he was the one that made you do that! So- So please don't feel guilty about it- and he's dead! Kvar is dead, I- me and my friends killed him. So you don't have to worry about telling me, I know already, and- and she's already been avenged."

Kratos swallowed and nearly spoke, but stopped himself. He had to act like he didn't know this; he had to act as if he had no clue Lloyd knew or about Kvar's demise.

"How did you…" he trailed off, unsure whether he should go along with it or not.

"Well me and my friends were traveling," Lloyd said, "and…well a lot of stuff happened, but we ended up meeting Kvar and he told me about- what happened. Then we ended up killing him and destroying the ranch…"

"I see," Kratos frowned.

"Huh-? Oh! Yeah, I guess news must have gotten around about the ranch being destroyed," Lloyd smiled weakly, rubbing the back of his neck, "So I guess that's why it's not that hard to believe."

He hesitated, then nodded.

"Yes, I had heard the Chosen's group had destroyed the ranch, so does that mean your companions are the Chosen's group?" he asked, knowing full well the answer.

"Oh- yeah," he grinned, "Colette- she's the blonde girl- she's the Chosen, we've all been traveling to- to save the world."

"I see," he said again.

The look on Lloyd's face told him clearly that he had been expecting more of a reaction. Kratos hesitated and then spoke again, eyes on his son, finding himself suddenly unable to leave him with only that.

"So you've been traveling with the Chosen, that's…." he closed his eyes, "Very…"

"I know it's dangerous," he frowned, "If that's what you are worried about, and…a lot of things have happened. A lot of things. I…I want to tell you but I'm not sure how you would…"

"You don't have to tell me anything you aren't comfortable telling me," he said, looking at him, "I don't- I don't expect you to open up to me after…this. Just meeting like this, that is."

Lloyd looked at him another long moment.

"You …sound familiar," Lloyd muttered.

Kratos flinched.

"Pardo- What?" he corrected.

"You talk like someone- and you sound- …" he shook his head, "N- Nevermind, I'm just imagining things, sorry. It's- ….hey."

"Yes?"

"When I was little…did you used to put me on your shoulders? And we'd look at the stars…"

Kratos froze.

"You...you remember that?" he whispered, this time not having to fake his surprise.

"I don't remember really clearly but…I had the feeling that you and I would look at the starts and talk to each other," he said, rubbing the back of his neck, "That- because of that, stars were the one thing in school I ever really cared about studying seriously…"

"…" a gentle smile came to his face, "I see."

"You like to say that huh?" Lloyd cracked a weak smile. "You've said that like five times in since we've been talking."

"Oh," he said simply, "…I apo- I'm sorry."

He should watch his wording a little, Lloyd already had picked up on a few things that would give him away.

For a moment he wondered when it was he decided he didn't want to give it away.

"So uh," Lloyd rubbed the back of his neck, "I- …e- excuse me a minute, okay? I- I need to talk to my friends- real quick- …"

Kratos scanned him and then nodded once, settling himself back in the chair.

"I understand, go ahead," he said.

Lloyd gave him a grateful smile and then hesitated just a moment more before leaving to go outside, presumably to try to get some assurance from his friends. The Seraph sighed and rubbed his face, frowning.

He couldn't hear them, though he knew very well what was probably happening. Raine was suspicious, although only moderately so or she would not have left him alone with him. Still, he could imagine her skepticism, her stance, arms crossed, eyes narrowed, going over all the data in her mind. She would ask Lloyd what he had been told, ask what the situation was, ask him if he…if he thought the man inside was really his father. His spine seized up again and he slumped, closing his eyes. His friends, the Chosen and Genis, would be unsure, but hopeful, especially if Lloyd seemed happy about this- which he did…

He was happy….

He shook his head.

The others would be more suspicious, more skeptically, but they would be mixed with hope as well. They would look at the locket he had handed over to Lloyd, see Anna's face in it, see how much Lloyd looked like her…they would look for some sort of proof-

The door opened just a bit.

"Hey-" Lloyd began.

Lloyd almost fell face first when something pushed past him, a blur of white and green. The teen cried out and Kratos' eyes widened. Neither swordsman had a chance to move before the white and green blur had tackled Kratos to the ground, licking his face violently, his tail wagging in a blur behind him.

Whine.

Kratos stared a moment, stunned.

Noishe recognized him-? How-? Well..protozoan were far more intelligent than one would think…

"Noishe! Get off!" he snapped, trying to force the protozoan off, finding it a lot more difficult to do then he had previously.

"Noishe- stop! Get off!" he heard Lloyd echo, then red gloves grabbed the 'dogs' scruff and helped pull the canine off of the elder man.

Noishe whined but backed up, his tail between his legs, though a dopey dog grin was plastered on his face. Kratos wiped the slobber off of his face and sat up, taken by surprised by a slight pain where the large paws had held him down.

"I- are you okay?" Lloyd asked, concerned, grabbing his arm and helping him to his feet.

Kratos slipped his arm away and brushed himself off, finding himself slightly indignant at being helped up. He glanced at Lloyd and nodded, to answer his question, then looked at Noishe, who was nearly bouncing on his four paws.

"S- Sorry about that, Noishe- ….knows you," he finished quietly, staring at him.

"…." He nodded, "Yes."

Lloyd stared a moment.

Then Kratos found himself trapped in another hug.

"I knew it!" Lloyd cried, stunning his father. "Noishe knows you- it all works! You really are- you are! See Professor?"

Kratos flinched and looked up, spotting his friends in the doorway, a slight frown on the teacher's face. As he thought, Raine had been the realistic one, bringing up that he could not be his father, that he could be some sort of trick by Cruxis-

…Technically it was though, wasn't it?

He frowned. It was …deception, and he was in Cruxis. It might as well be a Cruxian trick then…

"Dad!"

His thoughts shattered.

His head whipped down to look at Lloyd's grinning face, the teen beaming.

Did he just call-?

"It's really you! Dad!" he said.

What could he possibly say to that?

"…" he smiled gently, holding him close, "Yes."

This was a lie, but he wasn't lying, at least….

"Guys, come in and let me introduce you!" the teen said, releasing him and heading back to the door.

Kratos frowned and glanced down at Noishe, whom despite his obvious delight, there was an undertone in the protozoan's eyes, which had locked onto Kratos' own russet ones.

Noishe knew, obviously…but he was aware something was wrong. Those dark eyes betrayed wisdom to those who knew how to spot it. Noishe knew, and Noishe wanted an explanation, but Kratos did not have one to give, which he wordlessly communicated back. The 'dog' whined and shook his head, almost like a sigh, and settled for curling up next to Kratos, rubbing his hand with his head, begging to be pet. With a sigh Kratos conceded, rubbing the soft fur.

"I don't know, Noishe," he whispered to the animal, "I don't know…"

"Did you say something Mr. Scott?" a voice chirped.

He nearly forgot his alias before looking up, seeing the blonde Chosen before him again.

"No, nothing, you must be the Chosen," he said, "It's an honor to meet you."

"Please, call me Colette," she smiled weakly.

"Very well then," he nodded, "…Colette."

She beamed at him.

Introductions came, Lloyd bringing each of his friends up to his father, grinning. Raine and Zelos, though obviously still a little wary, couldn't even bring themselves to be curt to the man, seeing the joy that surged through their ignoble leader.

After the introductions came the questions, many of them, most from Lloyd, some from his companions.

Where had he been this whole time?

Traveling.

"I had thought….he was dead," he said silently, not looking at any of them, "I trust you know…what happened to my wife- with Kvar-"

"Yes," Raine said flatly, "So you thought they were dead. That's understandable why you didn't find him sooner then."

He choked a bit. It stung.

"H- Hey! Professor-" Lloyd began.

"Don' go bringin' that up, Raine," Dirk waved his hand, "Ah think it's obvious ta all o' us, don' need to remind anyone."

Kratos blinked and looked at Dirk, surprised at his help, though admittedly a little grateful. The old dwarf just grinned and quieted down again, his piece said. The group looked at him a moment and Raine bit her lip, glancing aside.

"Indeed, I believe it is more than obvious that if Mr. Scott stayed long enough to have Lloyd with Anna, then when that situation with the exsphere arose…" Regal closed his eyes, "…"

"…Regal..did the same thing, Dad," Lloyd said, looking at him, frowning, "So- So I understand, really, you don't have to-"

"That's enough," he said softly, but firmly, "I know what you are going to say Lloyd; I…thank you."

There was more silence.

He closed his eyes, gather his thoughts, then opened them, raising his head.

"After I lost my family I had nothing left," he said flatly, his expression blank, "I saw no point in living. Saw no reason to continue trying."

Lloyd jerked and his expression made Kratos cut him off.

"I didn't think I deserved to live," he said, keeping his eyes off Lloyd, on the group, "…I wandered, for a long, long time…I had no family, so I had no home, there was no point in…"

He closed his eyes, reassessing the lies he had developed….the strange thing being that they were not fully lies, in a sense.

"I did not settle down in a town, I did not stop anywhere," he said, "Eventually to get by I became a mercenary, there was no better job for a man with no home. Then…I came to Iselia. I heard the name…'Lloyd'…and after some inquiring I found myself at …my wife's grave. Where I realized that the Lloyd I had heard of was…"

"Then I found'im," Dirk said casually, taking a drink from his mug, "Brought'im inside…and he spilled."

Kratos hesitated a moment, but nodded.

Funny how it still was technically true…

"We had a talk and then…you showed up," he said simply.

"A mercenary hm…" Raine frowned.

He hesitated.

"Yes, why?"

"Nothing…we've just had…bad fortune with mercenaries in the past," she said.

A sting of pain.

"Wh- Professor that's different!" Lloyd instantly countered, shaking his head. "This-"

"Yes, yes, I'm sorry," she closed her eyes, falling silent.

Lloyd fidgeted beside him. Kratos remained silent, waiting for someone to speak, not trusting himself to do it.

"So- what are you going to do now?" Lloyd asked.

The one question he hadn't devised an answer for.

"…" he looked at Lloyd, blinking.

"I mean- you're not gonna go wandering off right? I mean now that we finally- you know- you aren't going to leave are you?" he asked, unable to keep the hope out of his eyes.

He swallowed.

"Did you not have a journey to go on?" he said, looking at his friends, "You can't stay here either."

Lloyd flinched. The teen looked at his friends, then back at his father, then frowned as he found himself deep in thought.

"Well…you're a mercenary right? So you travel a lot and fight a lot anyway right…"

Kratos hesitated and nodded.

"Yes but-"

"Then come with us."

**Really, what else did you expect me to do? Come on.**

**Next chapter, Kratos finds out fighting isn't as easy as it used to be, plus more bonding! You know you love it. ;) **


	4. Chapter 4

**Birthday present for my little sister**

**Happy Birthday Kai!**

…**Didn't I used to have muses? **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. **

What was he supposed to have said? No? What could he have done if he said no? He was no longer an angel, he couldn't go back to Cruxis, he couldn't warp to Tethe'alla and continue his task. He needed to find a way to return to normal, yes, but as he had no clue as to where to start then he might as well search for it with them, yes? Besides, what was he supposed to say to Lloyd? When he told him to come with them..how could he have possibly have told him no?

His friends however had been a little…reluctant.

"This old geezer? He'll slow us down," Zelos scoffed.

Not very tactfully reluctant either.

"…" his eyes narrowed slightly, "I'm perhaps not as physically adept but I can make up for that with skill and experience."

Whatever state his body was in, despite being weakened he still was not a burden in anyway. He had been fighting for thousands of years, there was no way he was laying down and accepting the role of a liability. He scolded himself a bit at the thought, he would have to be careful after all…he couldn't afford to overestimate his abilities in this state.

"E- Even if he can't fight too much we can still take him with us, he can just stay back during hard fights and-" Lloyd started.

"It's not just that, Lloyd," Raine frowned, "You know what we would have to tell him? We'd have to tell him-"

"What's wrong with me telling my father the truth?" Lloyd snapped, eyes narrowing. "After what he had to go through with Kvar don't you think he deserves the truth?"

She fell silent, as did the others.

"You had no problem with me telling Dad everything yesterday-" Lloyd began, gesturing to Dirk.

"That's different-"

"No it's n-!"

Kratos put a hand on Lloyd's arm, grabbing it gently to get his attention. The teen whipped his head around, looking at his father, who looked at him

"…It's all right, Lloyd, you don't have to tell me anything or bring me along if they don't want me to," he said softly, glancing at him and then aside, releasing his arm.

Lloyd stared at him and Kratos scanned him a moment, looking away.

Every few minutes he was contradicting himself….

"D-…" Lloyd frowned, looking back to his friends. "Guys…"

Raine kept her face stern, Lloyd merely looked back at her. A moment passed and she sighed, looking back to the others.

"If he is willing to come I see nothing wrong with it," Regal stated.

"Oh come on Regal," Zelos smirked, "we all just know you want him so you won't be the oldest one in the group."

Regal and Kratos both glared at him silently.

"He is elderly but he does have an exsphere," Presea pointed out, "whether or not he can fight is not something we can determine by speculation."

An exsphere-?

Kratos' eyes glanced down briefly to his hand, finding he did indeed still have an exsphere mounted upon a crest. Granted it was a plain exsphere unlike his disguised crystal, but nonetheless a gem sat atop his hand.

"Well we let Sheena and Regal join us after they tried to kill us," Genis muttered.

Sheena flushed and Regal looked aside, both of them falling silent.

"See and we're friends now!" Colette smiled warmly. "and this is Lloyd's father- uhm, other father!"

"All right then, fine, do what you want," Raine sighed, rubbing her temple, "It looks like we're going to be here overnight, considering how much talking we're doing…"

"Ya don' worry abou' that," Dirk smiled warmly from his seat, "All of ya can stay as long as ya wan', though yer gonna have ta figure out where yer all sleepin'."

"Well I suppose that means I'm gonna have to cuddle up to someone, hm, hunny?" Zelos grinned, turning his glance towards Sheena.

"Keep away from me pervert!"

Kratos watched them, conflicted, and Lloyd noticed his gaze.

"Oh- sorry Dad, they're a little- uh we're all a little crazy," Lloyd grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck, "You get used to it."

The man blinked and looked back at his son, silent.

"I see," he said quietly.

"So uh- …is Mr. Scott coming with us or…?" Colette asked hesitantly, glancing around.

The group looked to Lloyd, who looked to Kratos, once again bearing that glint of childish hopefulness in his brown eyes.

It looked like he was going through with this…

"…" Kratos sighed and nodded, "Yes I suppose I am."

The grin on Lloyd's face was so infectious it even managed to get a small smile out of his father.

"O- Okay! Well- uh- ….oh! First I want to show you my room and stuff, okay?"

Kratos didn't get a chance to reply, Lloyd had gripped his wrist and was already leading him off, stunning Kratos slightly as he adjusted his pace to keep up with the boy. He nearly pulled away, he didn't like being touched, but it seemed his ability to refuse Lloyd had all but vanished. It was so good to see him smile like that, at him, instead of the shouts, the accusations, the anger and hurt….

So he let himself follow along with Lloyd, let himself be told stuff he already knew, made himself give the reactions he thought would be expected. Despite it all he kept calm and silent, only speaking when he felt necessary to convince them of his act, choosing his words carefully.

"You seem to be taking this rather well," Raine stated, scanning him suspiciously.

"That is not the sort of thing I'd believe you'd just make up," he responded calmly, "at any rate, I had many encounters with Desians…they didn't always keep their mouths shut. Usually yes it was when they assumed they were going to kill us so there was 'no harm' in saying such, but from what I heard from them this actually makes a lot of sense."

"They didn't-? What'd they say?" Lloyd frowned, curious.

"Your mother and I encountered Magnius once," he said, frowning, "he mentioned something along the lines of another world and 'stupid vermin so easily fooled by angels'."

That was before he had told her, before he had confessed to Anna what he was, what the world was. She had been confused, frustrated, afraid, but the answers had had to wait until they escaped the red-haired half-elf's grasp. Once they had Anna had rounded on him. 'You know what he meant don't you? You looked like you knew, he was looking at you!'

He wouldn't tell her, couldn't tell her, and for weeks she would not speak to him. It was only after another close encounter with death did Kratos confess to her, confess everything to her…

"Now that you mention it…Forcystus' men did say something sorta like that," Genis frowned, "When he attacked Iselia they all laughed when Lloyd said they attacked Colette, I had thought that was weird…"

"Hm…Magnius and Kratos had a suspicious exchange as well, at the ranch," Raine noted.

Kratos tried not to flinch. Lloyd did.

"Hey yeah, were you getting around to telling your old man about him, Bud?" Zelos asked, his eyes slightly narrowed.

"You did seem to leave him out of the explanation…" Regal noted.

Kratos had noticed as well. Lloyd had covered the major points, but he had all but left out Kratos, when he talked about the tower he merely had said they discovered the angels were false, then went on to the Renegades…

"Kratos…" Lloyd frowned, fists clenched, "..He was with us on the Journey but when we go to the Tower of Salvation he betrayed us. He was an angel the whole time…and he betrayed us."

The sentence was simple. Flat. Lloyd's voice didn't rise, he didn't get angry at all, he merely said it. Said it quietly, calmly, just the twinge of bitterness in his expressions…

"I'm sorry," Kratos said quietly.

"Huh?" Lloyd blinked, looking up at him.

"For that," he continued softly, "for- that you had to go through that."

He was, he was sorry…he hated himself for that; he would always hate himself for that….

"It's- all right," Lloyd said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck, "Uh- …point is, he's with Cruxis and he's REALLY tough so...you have to know about him."

"Seeing as though it's a matter of time before he shows up again, you should be informed," Raine stated.

No he didn't think they were going to see 'Kratos' anytime soon, not physically….

As the day went on, the others had begun to lose interest in the stranger. Well perhaps not lose interest, they were still curious, but they had decided to give it a rest.

Lloyd did not, yet miraculously, he barely said anything. He and Kratos had ended up on the balcony, talking, or rather Lloyd talking for the most part. The teen would go to ask something, then hesitate and change his mind, instead telling him something in turn, such as the one time they had fought a giant turtle in Tethe'alla. Kratos'd smirk lightly at his son's tales, nodding and commenting, happy to be able to speak to his child like this.

It wasn't until Kratos' stomach growled did he realize how much time had passed.

That and the fact his stomach hadn't growled in thousands of years, it was a little strange.

"Dad-? Oh- …yeah I guess we haven't really eaten huh?" Lloyd rubbed the back of his neck, sheepish. "I guess I'm hungry too, I just got so caught up with- everything and- stuff…"

Kratos nodded, still a little surprised, trying not to look like his stomach growling was a weird event. Luckily however, it appeared Genis was already a few steps ahead.

"Hey Lloyd?" the half-elf opened the door, looking out. "I've got some spaghetti done downstairs-"

"Spaghetti?" Lloyd grimaced, Kratos tensing up beside him.

"Don't worry I left some noodles without sauce, I just put garlic and cheese on them for you," he smiled.

"…." Kratos hesitated, "Did you make enough of that for two, perhaps?"

Lloyd and Genis both looked at him. The half-elf stared and Lloyd blinked, both boys silently scanning the man, who sighed, rubbing his face.

"I don't like tomatoes,' he said simply.

Genis blinked and a grin split Lloyd's face.

"Really!" he exclaimed, as if that was the most wonderful thing he had ever heard. "Me neither!"

"Well you never did like them," Kratos smirked weakly, looking at him, "your mother always tried to get you to eat them but…well you were stubborn."

Lloyd went starry-eyed at the mention of his mother, and Kratos expected a question about her at any second, but Lloyd's stomach interrupted with another growl.

"Er- we should go eat- huh?"

The meal went by with relatively little events, aside from further questions here and there. For the most part he kept silent, speaking only when he was spoken to, wary of his every action and answer for the fear he would draw more suspicion to himself. Luckily for him, Noishe seemed to be set on helping him in this task, as he sat behind Kratos and whined constantly, begging to be pet and begging to be tossed a couple of scraps.

Kratos sighed and patted Noishe's head, frowning a little, but Noishe's enthusiastic response seemed to relax the 'audience' of sorts. As on the balcony, Lloyd continued talking, this time with added comments from Colette and Genis, at times from Sheena and Zelos.

It wasn't until later, after more question-dodging form Raine and 'briefing' on the situation, did he finally excuse himself, realizing how tense he felt. They let him and he left the building, letting out a heavy sigh once he was outside. Frowning his eyes flicked to the grave of his wife, and before he knew it he found himself walking up to it once more.

What…had happened? Just a few hours ago he had stood here, like this, and then….

With a sigh he pulled out his locket, looking at the altered picture, of the man that had replaced him that looked more likely to be Lloyd in ten years than himself. Then again- ..Lloyd in ten years didn't seem to look that much different than Kratos…if you looked-

"Dad?"

"…" he turned, watching as Lloyd walked up to him "Yes…Lloyd?"

"I- uhm, sorry, were you…?" he looked at him and then the grave, frowning, "Uhm…did you want to be alone a moment?"

Did he? Yes, honestly he did, he couldn't take much more of this...but…it was Lloyd.

"Did you need something, Lloyd?" he asked, closing the locket.

"I- uh…"

There was a moment of silence as the wind blew through the trees gently, causing their hair to sway lightly, the trailings on Lloyd's jacket blowing softly to the side.

"I was wondering if…" he swallowed, looking away, rubbing the back of his neck, "I- I know it's been a long morning and stuff and I know you're- uhm- that my friends are awkward and you're awkward and we're all- and- uh- stuff- but …I…I wanted to ask…"

Kratos looked at him silently, waiting from him to continue.

"…" Lloyd took a deep breath, shaking his head and then looking up at him again, "I was wondering if you could tell me about Mom."

Kratos looked at him.

"…Of course," he said quietly, a weak smile coming to his face, "I was expecting you to ask…"

"Well- I kept going to but then-" the teen flushed a bit, rubbing the back of his neck, "I just- …it's a little weird, is all."

"I s- I understand," Kratos nodded, "It's a very…tense situation."

Lloyd grinned nervously at him, but grinned nonetheless, the two of them cast a glance back at Anna's grave, sharing a moment of silence before Kratos turned and walked away from it, towards the benches near the pen. Lloyd hesitated a little before following him, eager to hear what he would say.

"Your mother…" Kratos began, sitting on the bench, feeling Lloyd's eyes on him as the boy sat beside him.

He hesitated. Where to start? Where could he begin? How could he explain it all without giving himself away? Could he?

"Dad? Is something wrong?" Lloyd asked.

"No," he shook his head, quiet, "No…."

He had the right to know about his mother, and he wanted to tell him about his mother. Why wouldn't he want to tell him? He finally could, then why was it so hard to do it now that he had the chance? His russet eyes looked to his son, then around the area, falling onto Anna's grave across from them.

Lloyd frowned and followed his gaze, then looked back at him, taking in the expression on his face.

"Dad…I- ..I know she wouldn't have wanted you to punish yourself like this," Lloyd muttered, looking away.

"…No, I doubt she would have wanted that," he closed his eyes, "But she was…too kind for her own good. Well…when it came to the important things."

"The important things?"

"…She was fond of using violence when she was frustrated," a weak smirk cracking his lips, "Namely hitting me whenever I did something 'stupid'."

"She what?" Lloyd stared.

"Well she never hit very hard," he chuckled deeply, "Though she said that was because she liked me, otherwise she would have 'really let me have it'."

Lloyd stared.

"Very prone to anger," he continued, "But she loved you very much…she- …."

It was hard again. Why was it hard again?

Just keep talking….just keep telling him what he deserved to know…it was his mother, he had a right to know…

"Lloyd," Raine called, stepping outside, "We need to discuss our plans for Efreet tomorrow."

"Huh-? Oh! R- Right…"

Kratos looked at him, getting to his feet.

"We can talk when there is more time," he told him, "I'm sorry that I wasn't able to tell you a lot.

"Oh? I'm interrupting something?" Raine asked, looking between them, slightly curious despite her stubborn suspicion.

"Er- well it's okay," Lloyd said, walking to the house, "It was- we'll talk later, after we get all this done and stuff."

"All right then…" Raine said, turning and heading back inside.

Lloyd was disappointed, but Kratos couldn't help but feel just a little relieved, despite his own guilt…

* * *

Kratos silently made his way outside, past the sleeping forms that had crowded in Lloyd's room, hearing the gentle snore of the others down below. Gently he opened the door to the terrace and stepped outside, closing it with a soft click behind him. Cautiously he made his way to the edge of the terrace, looking around and then letting out a heavy sigh, finally allowing his body to relax.

What a day…..

They wanted to go to Efreet tomorrow, to continue the pacts. How well could he fight like this? He wasn't sure yet, but he had no intention of backing down, however…he wasn't sure breaking the mana links was truly in their best interest as it was. It's not like he would be able to tell them that, however, given how they were suspicious as it was, and to back up his claim would surely require his exposure.

Still…despite it all…

He had enjoyed spending time with his son again.

And being called…

"Dad?" a tired voice called. "It's like midnight, what are you doing up?"

Kratos flinched, cursing himself for having not paid attention to his surroundings. Despite having lost his angelic senses, he should have heard his son going through the door at the very least. He turned and Lloyd rubbed his eyes, straining them in the dim light of the moon to see his father.

"You should be resting," Kratos frowned.

"Yeah well so should you," He pouted, "What are you doing out here?"

"Thinking," He said simply, looking away.

"Oh," Lloyd answered.

A moment of silence

"…The stars are out," Lloyd said.

"Yes," Kratos nodded.

"Can you…tell me- …"

Lloyd bit his lip, half wanting to ask, but half berating himself for it. It had obviously been hard on his father earlier to talk about things, so maybe he was being childish rushing all of this…but on the other hand-

"You want me to tell you about the stars," Kratos said quietly, his head down.

"Huh-? Uh-…well, yeah, but I understand if…"

"It's late," Kratos said flatly.

Lloyd blinked, looking at him and then sighing deeply, turning to go back inside.

"Just for a few minutes," Kratos muttered softly.

Lloyd whipped around, staring at him. A second later a grin split his face and he dashed over to Kratos' side, looking up at him.

"Thanks, Dad," he chirped.

Kratos looked at him a long moment. Lloyd's smile faltered and he frowned, feeling self-conscious.

"Wh- why are you staring at me like that?"

"…" Kratos smiled weakly, "I'm…happy to talk to my son again."

Finally something that was completely true.

"I'm happy to talk to you too," Lloyd smiled, "..Dad."

Just a few minutes wouldn't hurt…

**n.n Hope you liked, we'll get into the more plotty points next chapter, but I thought this chap was needed…oyako! FEAR IT!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Fish. Yes that was necessary.**

**Hope you enjoy n.n**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

Lloyd left with an enthusiastic wave back to his adoptive father as they left, the group walking to the clearing where they could take out the rheairds. Kratos lingered toward the back as Lloyd walked away from his home, trying not to think of how strange it was to be among this rag-tag group of freedom-fighters once again, instead keeping his attention on his son.

His son. He liked the way that sounded in his head. Liked how he could say it now, if he chose, liked the pleasant feeling that come from the idea…

The rheairds were shown to him and like with everything else, he pretended to not know of them, and allowed himself to be instructed on how they worked, as Genis and Presea would now be sharing. Of course he could fly one, he'd been able to for thousands of years, but he could take a little lecturing if it was necessary. He was good at acting like he didn't know things already, considering his 'job'…

As such, they didn't have any fighting to do until the landed at the entrance of the fire seal.

"Here we are, Dad," Lloyd smiled, "It's really hot, just to give you a heads up…"

"I can tell that already," Kratos nodded, looking around, "It is the desert after all."

"O- Oh, yeah, sorry," Lloyd flushed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Shall we continue?" the man smiled weakly, glancing over at him.

"Ye- yeah," Lloyd nodded, "Let's go."

So they continued onward (after Raine resisted the urge to coo over the entrance again) and very shortly thereafter encountered their first bout with monsters. Kratos drew his blade and took a stance, frowning at how much heavier the blade appeared. Still, while it was noticeably heavier it wasn't heavy enough that it should hinder him at all. All right, his strength and speed wouldn't be what they were, he knew this, but his skill should not have diminished.

"Here they come," Sheena flicked out her cards.

Lloyd looked at him and then charged in, both swords already in his grip. Kratos frowned just a second and then followed, confirming that he was in fact slower than he would have liked. Still, he did manage to match Lloyd's speed, and considering Lloyd's exsphere and his younger body, that was an accomplishment. The first creature swiped in and he easily parried it, slipping behind it and slashing through the back of the neck, severing its spine.

He smirked lightly.

He knew what spots to hit, that hadn't changed at all. The spine, the head, the heart, various spots where he could slice a muscle, snap a bone, they were all still there. He didn't have to try harder, he just had to be more intelligent about it.

That wouldn't be a problem, if there was one thing he had was years and years of experience.

The battle didn't last long and Kratos flicked the blood off his sword, sheathing it and looking over at Lloyd, who had been watching him. A smile spread across the ignoble leader's face, sheathing his own blades.

"Wow! You are good! I knew you'd be," he grinned, walking over to him.

"Thank you," he smiled weakly, finding he was breathing harder.

This was a little harder than he thought it would be…it didn't matter, he had to make due. He would have to keep learning his limits and make sure to keep within them, he'd have to be cautious.

"Yeah, the old man is pretty good," Zelos smirked, "You think what with his age he'd be slow by now, with the aching joints…"

"A lifetime of combat coupled with that exsphere probably contributes to that," Kratos stated simply, glaring just a bit.

"You have a very advanced vocabulary," Raine raised an eyebrow, eying him.

"Thank you," he said simply, "I enjoy reading."

Lloyd tweaked.

"Oh? You do? What else do you like to do?" he asked, his eyes getting that hungry gleam again.

"Lloyd, don't mean to be a buzzkill but uh…we kinda have a pact to make," Sheena pointed out.

"Wh- oh! Yeah, duh," he shook his head, rubbing the back of his neck, "Yeah, let's hurry and finish up what we came here for."

So they continued onward, and it progressively became more and more hot. Kratos found himself sweating, growling a bit to himself at the discomfort he felt. Whether or not his senses were…more sensitive, he should have the mental discipline not to allow it to bother him. Still, bother him it did, but he found he wasn't the only one that was discomforted. The entire group was sweaty and looked irritable, with the exception of Presea, of course. Though he and Regal looked the least phased out of the lot of them.

"I forgot how hot this place was," Raine sighed, brushing her damp hair from her face with a groan.

"I'm DYING here!" Zelos whined. "Is it much further!"

"D- Don't worry guys," Colette smiled weakly, "We're almost there."

"Yeah yeah, let's just get there before Dick passes out and we have to carry him out," the man huffed.

They all stopped.

"…'Dick'?" Kratos repeated, turning to look at him.

"What? Your name is Richard, right? So you're 'Dick'," he smirked a bit, shrugging, "Now don't get mad about it, Dick, let's just go."

"…Don't call me that," Kratos stated curtly.

"Why not, Dick?"

"It's Richard," he said just as curtly, taking care to make sure he said the 'right' name.

"Mr. Scott doesn't like that nickname, Zelos," Colette frowned, "Maybe you shouldn't call him that."

"Fine then, I'll call him old man," he shrugged.

"No," Kratos huffed.

"Geezer?"

"No."

"Old Fogey?"

"N-"

"'Get off my lawn' man?"

Kratos sighed and turned away, his hand gripping the hilt tightly.

"Let's just find the altar," he growled.

"Right-o, Dick," Zelos nodded.

Kratos ignored him.

"Hey, Dad?" Lloyd asked as they headed off.

"…Yes, Lloyd?" he asked, trying to ignore the oddness of hearing the title.

"Why do you always grip your sword like that? Even if we're not about to fight?"

Damn. He was still being too obvious.

"Habit, I suppose," he frowned, "I'm used to a fight breaking out at any moment, I suppose it comforts me…why do you ask?"

"Oh, I was just wondering if that was a…common thing," Lloyd frowned as well, eying him.

"..." he hesitated. "Common thing?"

"Kratos did that too," Genis stated, scanning him again.

He did his best not to flinch.

"Oh?" he tilted his head a bit. "Hm, perhaps it is, I knew a few other swordsmen over the years that had the same habit."

"That doesn't surprise me at all," Regal added, "When I was young one of my martial arts master's was prone to carrying around a dull knife. It had not purpose in fights, but he used to use knives in battle. The knife was there solely for him to grip when he wasn't using his hand."

"Are you just trying to back the other old man?" Zelos smirked.

"I'm not old," Regal huffed, "I'm thirty-one. I'm closer to your age, Chosen, than to Mr. Scott's."

"Woah woah woah! Are you saying I'm old?" Zelos scoffed.

They ignored him.

Finally, after what seemed like far too long, they arrived at the altar.

"Watch this, Dad," Lloyd smiled, "We're going to make a pact with the spirit here, we're going to have to fight it but it's still pretty cool to see what the spirit is like."

"Make sure you keep focused on the fight," Kratos stated.

"Wh-? I- Of course I'm going to," he huffed, flushing just a bit, "Why would you say that?"

"…I-"

He went to say something evasive, something harsh, something that'd make Lloyd put more effort into fighting, into proving him wrong, like he had done on the journey. How mad it made him…but-

"I just want to make certain you don't get hurt," he said instead.

Lloyd blinked, flushing a bit more, but smiled lightly before huffing and looking away.

"Okay, okay, I'll pay attention," he sighed.

The fight went smoothly enough, really, though Kratos still had to watch himself. Luckily, Lloyd seemed to be doing all right on his own, to Kratos' relief. To say he wasn't tired, however, wouldn't be entirely honest. By the time Efreet had subsided in his rampage, the ancient Seraph found himself feeling the foreign exhaustion of an aged man.

"Whew…that was a work out," Lloyd sighed, rubbing his face.

"Dear God, as if I wasn't sweating enough! My hair is going to be ruined!" Zelos cried.

"I wouldn't mind some water," Sheena sighed.

"Then hurry and make the pact so we can get out of here!" Raine snapped, irritable.

"All right, all right," Sheena sighed, rubbing her face and turning to Efreet.

Kratos never found himself so relieved to leave a place.

"Okay…" Lloyd sighed as they left, relieved, "I think we all deserve to go somewhere and rest."

"Definitely," Genis sighed, "Somewhere cooler."

"We could fly to Izoold I suppose," Raine rubbed her face, "It's a little further but at least there's water nearby-"

"Oh hell yes! I am totally up for a swim! Even if it is a dingy boondocks town!" Zelos grinned.

They ignored him.

"Okay, so let's hurry and get out of here," Lloyd sighed, wiping sweat off his own brow.

"Before one of us collapses from heat-stroke," Kratos added, muttering just a bit.

"Yeah, before Dick collapses from heat-stroke," Zelos nodded.

Kratos felt his eyelid twitch slightly.

"Zelos, could you lay off?" Lloyd sighed deeply again. "Please? Can we just go already?"

"Yup, I'd say I'm up for that," the Chosen nodded, taking out his rheaird, "Okay, let's go."

So they were off again. As they flew they made it into the more windy- but thankfully far more cooler- air, which came as a relief to all of them. It even soothed Kratos to the point he could finally concentrate on what had been bothering him.

The pacts…he still wasn't sure if this was the right thing to do. A mana link had been broken, Celsius had appeared, and there had been an earthquake…it didn't look like it was adding up very well- No, all right, he could find a way to bring attention to this without bringing attention to himself. After all, under the guise of not knowing anything, it'd be well accepted if he were to ask questions on the subject. He could bring it up, as if curious, as if he didn't know more than they did, and express concern over the violent effects. If he could draw their attention to it- Raine and Regal in all likelihood- maybe he could convince them to delay this until they had looked into it more thoroughly…

Izoold was cooler, the sea breeze buffeting their bodies as they landed close to the town. The smell of salt and fish from the market was prominent even outside the city, and Kratos felt a flicker of nostalgia, a soft smile coming across his face.

Ah yes…Izoold…

"Hey, Dick, you spacing out?" Zelos asked, waving a hand rapidly in front of Kratos' face. "We're going already, are you having a senior moment or something?"

Kratos shot him a quick glare and simply walked past him. The Chosen one was always extremely irritating-

His eyes widened and he choked just a bit in surprise when his leg touched down and buckled, causing him to struggle just a second to stand again, a sharp throb going up his leg.

"Dad-?" Lloyd looked around at him, his eyes widening a bit. "Hey- Dad, are you all right-?"

"I-"

Raine was already over by him, casting healing mana into his leg. Kratos frowned and went to protest as she looked up at him.

"Sit down," she said curtly.

"I-"

"Sit down, Mr. Scott," she snapped again, her blue eyes narrowed menacingly.

Kratos gritted his teeth a bit but did so, keeping silent as Raine pulled back the pantsleeve and examined his leg.

"I think you're fine," she concluded after a moment, "you probably just overexerted yourself. It doesn't seem like you pulled anything."

Kratos stared at her.

He staggered like that…because of…exertion? He wasn't wounded her just…was tired? That's it? What kind of humiliation- how could he live that down? This was unacceptable, he wasn't some frail old- …well he was old, yes, and physically he was 'aging' but he was not OLD….

"Try to take it easier next time," Raine said as she got to her feet, "You probably haven't had to fight that hard in a long time, I imagine."

He stared at her. It took him a moment to recognize the emotion that was nagging at his inside, but eventually he determined it. Embarrassment. He was embarrassed.

With a grunt he got to his feet and brushed himself off, his eyes closed, trying to compose himself so as not to let his irritation and humiliation be detected.

"So he's okay-?" Lloyd asked.

"Yup, just fine, bud," Zelos grinned, "just an effect of old age."

Lloyd glared at him.

"Geez-! If looks could kill! What? Your dad is old! How is that my fault? It's a fact of life!" the chosen muttered, but backed away from him nonetheless.

"I'm fine, Lloyd," Kratos stated, frowning just a bit, "Don't worry about it."

"Well…okay," Lloyd bit his lip, looking at him a moment before looking away.

What else was he supposed to say, really?

So they walked into the village and once again Kratos found himself lost a bit in the breeze, the smells, the feel of the town. It was strange..it was all fainter now, yet somehow that just drew his attention more. It had been…not easy, but not hard to push it away when they had been through here the first time, when it would all so blatant, when he knew he had to hide it. Maybe that was why, he didn't have to hide it now…maybe that was why he let himself look around a bit, allowing the sights to sink in…

"Hey, Dad?" Lloyd asked.

"Hm?" Kratos looked down at him, shaking himself from the feeling.

"Have you been through here before? You traveled a lot too, right?" he smiled eagerly up at him, like he did when he was a child, like when he was asking for a treat…

"Yes," Kratos fought a tug at his lips, "In fact…"

He hesitated a bit, looking around at the village, then at the eyes on them, the eyes of his friends, curious, suspicious…

"Yeah?" Lloyd prodded, eager.

"We should get to the inn and rest first," Kratos said, looking at him again, "then we can talk."

Lloyd blinked and then frowned a bit, eying his father, but nodded. A small smirk came to Kratos' face as he walked off. Though he was nearly grown that look and his face was almost the same as when he was a child, that air to him, that he was disappointed. It nearly made him chuckle, but it had almost done that many times during their journey beforehand…he knew how to hold it back. …Besides he already had humiliated himself enough with injuring his leg through nothing more than his age…

He sighed.

They made it to the inn and the group plopped around into chairs and on beds, groaning a bit, thoroughly exhausted from the day's fight. Kratos sat down slowly on one such chair and suppressed the urge to sigh in relief, as his aching new body seemed to do, his muscles relaxing. He closed his eyes a moment, nothing how comfortable he was-

"Dad?"

His eyes snapped open and he shook his head, frowning a bit. Was he going to doze off? He couldn't be that tired, it wasn't even dusk yet…

"Yes?" he looked up, seeing Lloyd once again before him.

"Uhm…so.." the teen rubbed the back of his neck, glancing down at Kratos. "…What were you going to tell me?'

To tell him? …Should he tell him-? Then again, why shouldn't he? Lloyd had been eager for anything he could hear from him, just he hadn't known where to start, or how to bring it up…

Well no better way than to let Lloyd bring it up then, he supposed.

"This town…" Kratos frowned a bit, looking out the window at the churning sea, the boats coming in and out, "Is where you were born."

Lloyd stared at him, the others tried to act like they didn't notice, tried to be polite as not to listen it, but they had all fallen silent. They were all interested, but that didn't bother their ignoble leader at all.

"It- it is?" Lloyd beamed, pulling up a chair, sitting by Kratos and looking up at him like a starstruck child.

"Yes," Kratos allowed himself to smile weakly, glancing at him and then out again, "Your mother and I were coming here on a boat from Palmacosta…she went into labor when we were still on the ship."

Lloyd stared and said nothing, just kept looking at him with those large eager eyes, imploring him to continue, nearly begging him to say more. A soft chuckle slipped from him and he looked back out at the sea, hiding the tug of his lips into a faint smile.

"We arrived here and she had been in labor for almost two days already," he shook his head, "She had almost blown her voice out from all the shouting she did. Yelling at me, yelling at anyone around, yelling at the boat- poor Noishe, he was terrified."

Lloyd smiled a bit, laughing just a little. Kratos glanced back at him, feeling a warm sensation bubbling up and threatening to make him smile more. He turned again.

"When we arrived we were taken to the small infirmary by the docks, a midwife was called and she helped deliver you," Kratos smirked a bit, glancing back at his son, "You arrived after about an hour of coming here. Your mother's first words when she held you was 'took your time didn't you'?"

Lloyd pouted a bit, flushing just a little.

"Hey…it's not like it was my fault," he huffed.

"Of course not," Kratos smirked at him, "And she wasn't serious, of course, she was overjoyed. She cried and said you were the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen. …Of course right after that she claimed that it was all her genes."

Lloyd grinned and laughed a bit more, barely able to contain his excitement over the little bits of information.

"She loved you very much," Kratos' smirk faltered into a small, weak smile, feeling his eyes mist, "she wouldn't even let me hold you for a good couple of hours…kept you…all to herself…"

His face fell and he looked out the window again, focusing on the water. He had to get a hold of himself…or…he knew he'd weaken more, at the thought of her. Knew he'd lose control…

"Dad?" Lloyd said after a moment.

"Yes?" he answered, not looking back at him.

"Thanks for telling me."

Kratos blinked and finally turned back to look at his son. Lloyd's face was serious, but gentle, a small, warm smile on his face and a shimmer to his eyes that Kratos had seen so often in Anna's. He felt his throat tighten a bit and then nodded, smiling weakly back as he took him in.

"You…have no need to thank me," he said, glancing away, "As said, I owe it to you…so it's quite all right."

Lloyd looked at him a moment and then nodded. With a sheepish grin his rubbed the back of his neck, straightening.

"Uh…I should go take a bath now," he said, "I kinda smell…sweating and all…"

"Hm…" Kratos wrinkled his nose a bit, "I say we all could use that..."

"Already called the bath," Sheena declared, walking out, "You can fight over who's next."

Raine instantly claimed her spot and the others began to quarrel over it lightly, which involved Lloyd putting Genis in a headlock at one point. Kratos tilted his head to the side and observed, silent.

This group had gotten even more rambunctious…

**Lo it is done 83 hope you liked n.n**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter six… have been having such a hard time writing lately lol **

**Wait, why did I say 'lol'? That's not funny…oh whatever**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

"All I'm suggesting is that it might be more dangerous than we know of if we go ahead with this plan."

Kratos frowned lightly, beginning to grow irritated with the skepticism he was getting from both Raine and Regal, whom were seated at the table with him. He'd asked to speak with them as the younger group went about getting to bed and sleeping, exhausted, though Raine and Regal may have been sleeping by now as well if he hadn't asked to speak with them. He had brought up his doubts with their plan for the pactmakings, figuring if he could convince the more cool-headed and logical members of the party they would in turn influence Lloyd, but they seemed to be more suspicious toward him than anything, at least Raine did.

"Raine, truthfully he does present a point," Regal pointed out to her, "the spirits said themselves they do not know for sure what will happen, and the earthquakes after the bond severings are a tad suspicious…"

"Yes but it's no small task, we should expect effects like that," Raine frowned, though she seemed to consider his words, "It's true what you say…we should look into this more thoroughly, but what's strange to me about this is why you would so quickly bring this up…"

"Why wouldn't I?" Kratos tilted his head a bit, both irritated but amused by her logic. "Is it odd I ask questions about things I know little about? In fact I'm more surprised no one has considered this possible flaw before hand…"

"…" Raine sighed, rubbing her face, "That is true, I suppose…but I don't know how we could go about finding out what will happen if it has never occurred before. It seems rather pointless to study something that had no precedent or has no data on the matter…"

Kratos frowned a bit. Yes, she was right he supposed…the only real place that could possibly give them and answer was the Kharlan Core system, and that of course was well out of their reach. Why hadn't he realized this? Think, there had to be something else…

"These Renegades you said you were working with," Kratos asked, his eyes glancing over the pair, "Do they have any such information? Or anything that would allow use to get our own?"

"Hm, they may have…" Raine frowned, "But they were the ones that told us the specifics of the situation to begin with. They found out we broke the first mana link and then asked to join with us, it seemed they knew the situation as it was already…"

"And you're willing to risk the fate of two worlds on an assumption that they did their homework?" Kratos raised one eyebrow slightly, his eyes narrowed despite it.

Raine fell silent a moment, looking half insulted and half abashed, considering her rather reckless conclusion-making process.

"Perhaps we should indeed ask the Renegades if they have any further information on this matter," Regal said, examining Raine and then Kratos, "We should be sure, after all."

The Renegades? Well it was likely no one would question his presence after all, it should be safe enough-

"Yuan's the one that came up with this plan," Raine frowned, "He's the one that looked into the data in the first place, I think he would have told us anything he knew."

Yuan? He tried not to twitch. Yuan was the leader of the Renegades? How- …well…actually now that he thought of it, it wasn't that surprising. Just how the half-elf had managed to keep such a secret for so long-

He froze.

No he couldn't possibly go with them to the Renegades, then, Yuan would know in an instant that he was a fraud. All Lloyd would have to do was declare him his father and then….then…

No, he couldn't do that, he'd- but…

"Perhaps we should check into the archives of the Tower of Mana," Raine said, frowning. "The Book of Regeneration might give us some hints as well…I think we've heard all we can hear from Yuan; that and I still don't trust him enough to waltz into his base again."

"Yes…perhaps that would be best," Regal nodded, turning to Kratos in expectation of an answer.

"Thank you," Kratos closed his eyes, releasing a tiny sigh of relief, "You two seemed the most intelligent, I had figured you'd hear me out… I didn't want to confront Lloyd first, because he would have merely become upset- I believe."

Luckily no one seemed to notice his blunder, they merely agreed quietly, glad that Lloyd was already fast asleep.

"For now I think we should rest," Raine sighed, rubbing her face, "it's been a long and difficult day…"

Hmph, it had been a difficult past two days, really…

Still Kratos didn't find it in himself to protest, gladly going into the room he was sharing with his son. Lloyd was splayed out in a miraculously impossible position already, snoring loudly. A faint smile flicked across his face and he sat on the edge of his bed, watching his son toss a bit. He would have stayed there all night and just watched him, as he had made a habit of during the journey, but the softness of the bed was too comforting to ignore; that and once again the stinging of his eyes that indicated the need for sleep. It was odd, and inconvenient really, but it was kind of…nice to be human again.

So reluctantly he lay down in the bed and closed his eyes, letting sleep overtake him.

He stirred back into the world of the living several hours later, feeling the sun warming his face. The muffled sound of 'Dad?' kept tweaking at his ears, making him mutter back in his sleep.

"Not now…Lloyd…" he murmured, half-asleep.

"Dad."

He nearly called for Anna, to tell her to take care of Lloyd, to tell her he was tired. Then he realized…where it was he was, when he was. His russet eyes flicked open and he looked up, Lloyd's own russet eyes looking down at him.

"Dad it's time to go, the Professor just said we had to get ready."

What? Had he really slept in so late? Well perhaps not…'late' but he had always woken up before everyone else…when he did use to sleep. With a light groan he sat up, scanning the room and his son's smiling face.

"We're going to head for the Tower of Mana apparently…I mean I know a spirit is there but I didn't think we could see her yet…" he frowned, shrugging a bit.

"Luna?" he stated, eying him.

"Oh, yeah that's her name- how'd you know?" he blinked.

"I've been around and heard a few things." he chuckled a bit, getting to his feet in the process. "Well then- …the Tower of Mana?"

"Yeah." Lloyd nodded.

So they were going so soon. Good; good to see that Raine and Regal were taking this threat seriously. Kratos went about preparing to leave, trying not to look as if the traveling attire was foreign to him. He adjusted the belt that fastened the sword to his hip, noting again how much heavier it was.

He met up with the group with Lloyd, who had gathered in the inn's kitchen for the breakfast Genis had made. Kratos knew he would be expected to eat, as he had the past couple of days, but in all honesty he found he didn't quite mind. It smelled very good, it had been so long since something like a scent had garnered so much of his attention. It wasn't that he couldn't smell before, no, it was more..the scent had no meaning. He could smell it, it just didn't mean anything, a useless sense.

The taste seemed to be just as vibrant as the smell. He enjoyed his meal much more now that his body actually needed the nutrients.

"All right, now that everyone is ready, let's get to business." Raine spoke up. "We're going to head for the Tower of Mana before we try to make the pact with Sylph, it'd be in our best interests to see if we can find any information about the links before we break them all."

"Is that really worth the effort?" Zelos asked, leaning back in his chair with his arms behind his head. "I mean, if Yuan couldn't figure anything out with his high-tech stuff and if the spirits themselves didn't know, how the hell is looking in a few old books going to help with anything?"

"Given that the fate of two worlds is at stake, I would say it's impossible to be too careful." Kratos spoke up, stating his opinion calmly. "From what I know breaking these links cannot be reversed, it's dangerous to play with something you can't undo."

The group silenced, eying him, and once again he wondered if he had gone too far.

"Mr. Scott is right." Raine nodded. "We can't be reckless about this."

There were more books in the tower than there appeared to be, and there already appeared to be very many to begin with. Nonetheless they began to search the shelves for anything that might give them any sort of clues for the situation that might point out anything they would overlook. However they appeared to be little information if any in this place. Damn it all, if Yuan didn't have any information for them and there was nothing here then that still only left the Core System...which was impossible for him to get at like this. He sighed and rubbed his face.

"Find anything, Dad?"

He blinked, turning to look down at his son.

"No, have you had any luck?" he asked as he set the book back.

"No." he sighed. "I mean I know this is important and all but- Dad?"

Kratos' attention had diverted from Lloyd at the next book he pulled out, his russet eyes locking on the faded cover. Lloyd looked at him curiously as his father scanned the text and then glanced down at him.

"Dad? What is it?"

"This…" he said slowly, looking between him and the book. "This is a book of old myths, stories…the like."

"Oh..yeah, you like to read, right? Is it one you like or something?"

"I used to tell you stories from this book." He said, scanning the pages. "Of course I didn't have the book myself, but I told you what I remembered of them.."

Lloyd blinked. The teen shifted a bit, glancing at him, then smiled weakly.

"Like the stories you were telling me about the stars?"

"Yes." he nodded, managing a weak smile of his own.

"Hey- …Dad? The Professor and Regal think you..uhm.." Lloyd scanned him a moment, biting his lip as he considered his words.

"Yes?" he asked, trying to ignore the tension that seized him as a result of the suspicion.

"They said you're really…smart, for a soldier." He said, rubbing the back of his neck. "And you like books and all, so I was just wondering, were you a scholar or…?"

"No." Kratos answered, tilting his head a bit to examine his son.

"Oh, well I was just wondering…."

They looked at each other in silence, unheeding the bustling of the rest of the group among the shelves. Kratos scanned his son and considered a moment, thinking if and how to answer him. It'd be best to say nothing, but- …no, actually it could help him keep his cover if he were to tell Lloyd more. A real father would, after all, and a backstory would further secure his position among the others…

"My parents were wealthy," he stated, looking at his son. "My mother stressed my education in the academic fields and arts, whereas my father taught me combat."

Lloyd tweaked, scanning his father once over before nodding.

"Wow- really? So- wait if you were rich then why did your dad-"

"He was a…high-ranking, soldier." He said, looking side, losing himself in his memories. "The leader of a militia."

Militia? Feh, not quite, but it was the most believable situation for Sylvarant's current era. His father was a general, he himself had been a knight. Still, it was true for the most part..

"Really?" Lloyd stared. "So- if your parents were rich and stuff how did you end up being a mercenary?"

Kratos was silent a long moment, staring into the shelves as if somehow the infinite words in their pages would spring to life and arrange for him.

"Dad?"

"They died." He said flatly, setting the book back. "I began traveling with some friends and…after a long time I found myself meeting your mother."

Lloyd fell silent and Kratos pulled out another book.

"If you'd like, I wouldn't mind teaching you some of my father's techniques," he said, quickly changing the subject, hoping it would secure his son's attention more than his previous story.

Luckily for him, it did.

"You mean- like training?"

"I suppose." Kratos nodded, a weak smile coming to his face. "I don't think Zelos has enough drive to train, you need to keep your skills polished somehow after all."

There was no harm in continuing to train with his son. After all, prior t this the majority of his instruction was drilling in the fundamentals that Lloyd lacked. He had advanced enough past that, he had grown strong enough for him to start teaching him more advanced techniques. It would help him, and teaching different techniques and styles would only aid his cover as well.

Well, judging by the look on Lloyd's face, there was no backing out of it now.

"All right," Raine spoke up after what felt like hours later. "did anyone find anything the least bit useful?"

"No," Sheena sighed in exhaustion.

"Negative." Presea agreed.

"All I did was give myself papercuts and a headache! I hate reading!" Zelos whined, resting his hands behind his head.

'So it seems there was nothing here." Regal stated.

Kratos bit his lip, frowning as he mulled over the information. He had already checked the archives in Tethe'alla, there was nothing here, Yuan had found nothing…dammit, if this didn't happen he would be able to get to the Core System and find an answer for sure. There would be no doubt….

"Well…no news is good news, right?" Zelos shrugged.

"Well…" Lloyd frowned, thinking it over. "I mean, if there is no way of knowing then what can we do? I mean we can't just sit around and do nothing just because we're not sure. The longer we wait the more time Cruxis has to catch up with us."

"I agree." Raine frowned. "The only other option I could think of is to ask the spirits themselves, but none of the ones we have met seem to know anything about it."

"Then let us continue on and inquire the spirits as we come across them."Regal nodded.

"…" Kratos nodded. "There doesn't seem to be any better course of action."

"So then…we're going back to getting pacts?" Lloyd nodded. "Let's go make the next one- the Wind Spirit right? That's…Sylph, right?"

"Wow, Lloyd, you remembered."Genis smirked.

"Shut it, Genis."

"According to what you've told me, that would be the ruins of the Wind Seal, correct?" Kratos asked, glancing at his son. "That would be the island to the southeast."

"Huh-? Oh, yeah." Lloyd smiled. "With the rheairds we can get there in a couple hours."

"Let's be off then."

The flight was a bit more hazardous than the way there. Of course, given the winds around he Wind Seal, of course the flying would encounter more turbulence. They had barely arrived on the island when they were forced to land, as the conditions for their flying had certainly not gotten any better in that time. So it was they landed and had to walk the rest of the way, much to the party's contempt- …or that is a certain Chosen's contempt.

"Are you kidding? Walk? This is ridiculous, haven't we done enough walking as it is? My legs are going to fall off!"

"If only your mouth'd fall off instead." Sheena muttered darkly.

"Well that's all right, I mean some training on the way there wouldn't hurt us, right?" Lloyd asked the group in general.

"You just want to see your dad beat things up again." Genis rolled his eyes, but gave at easing smirk to his friend.

"Wh- do not!"

"Well it IS a marvel that the old man can move at all, much less that fast." Zelos cracked a smirk, shrugging dramatically. "You over your aches and pains from yesterday, Dick?"

"Stop being a jerk, Zelos!" Sheena scowled.

"…My daddy…was…a soldier too."

Silence fell, aside from that of the wind, as the group turned to the one that had spoken. Presea appeared to be deep in thought, or as much as her expression could convey; Kratos looked at her, questioning as the blue eyes looked at him in response.

"You were a soldier, yes?" she asked. "My daddy…my father was a knight."

Kratos' throat tightened just a bit. Oh..yes, that grave he had seen them make…that had been her father's. The one with the axe laid against it, it had seemed familiar…an old, worn, knighthood axe, but one all the same. Tethe'alla had always boasted knights that had a variety of skills with weaponry, though they usually specialized in one. He himself was a master of several martial arts in addition to swordsmanship, but he had known others who used axes and the like.

"I apologize." She said, tilting her head a bit. "Just…you carry yourself like Daddy did, you see. Even when he retired and was growing old, he still…"

"No, no it's…quite all right." He frowned a bit, but nodded. "I'm sure your father was a good man."

"Thank you." she nodded her head, the barest shadow of a smile flicking across her face. "He would have been honored to have the respect of a skilled soldier."

Kratos felt a flick of a smirk before he clamped it down, nodding and turning away from her, looking toward their destination.

"Wow, Presea, I didn't know your dad was a knight!" Genis exclaimed, at the pink-haired girl's side in an instant.

Presea, correct? Yes…she had been the Angelus Project in Tethe'alla… That girl had been experimented on just as his Anna had been.

He must have been frowning, because Lloyd picked up on his darkened mood.

"Dad?" he asked. "Are you okay?"

"Hm? Oh, yes." he shook his head, rubbing his face. "I'm sorry, I was just thinking."

"About what?"

"…" he shook his head again. "Nothing. Let's hurry on so we can make camp at the ruins tonight."

He scanned his son, his eyes falling onto the exsphere on his left hand. The gem that had taken Anna's life, that held her life, that now protected and endangered his son alike. Was she watching? Could she see him now? What would she think? Was she angry? Was she happy on some level?

Did she even know it was really him?

"Dad…? You're staring at me…"

He blinked, realizing he had somehow turned his eyes to his son's face. My how he looked like his mother…

"I'm sorry." He said again. "…You look a lot like your mother."

"You told me that already." Lloyd cracked a weak smile, but rubbed the back of his neck as the red flush came across his cheek.

"I did? Oh…I'm sorry then."

Had he? Had he already told him that? Well it wasn't unlikely….

"No, it's okay." Lloyd laughed, smiling at him. "But I think I look a lot like you too."

His insides chilled.

…Was it true? Did Richard Scott look more like Lloyd's father than Kratos Aurion?

"Dad?"

"Nothing, Lloyd." he forced a small smile. "Let's hurry on."

Did he want to know?

**Yaaaaay an update 83 Finally -_- have had such writer's block lately…**

**Hope you liked **


	7. Chapter 7

**Lucky number seven **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

"Not bad, next time try to make sure you don't lock your elbows when you extend your arm, otherwise you nearly had it perfect."

Lloyd beamed at him and he smiled lightly back, feeling a swell of pride for his son. He really had improved drastically; the skills he was picking up were no easy feat to master after all.

"All right, I can't wait to try it on Sylph!" Lloyd grinned, looking excited at the thought- which he probably was.

He gave him about five minutes until he was bored again.

"We're almost to the altar," Sheena said, stretching out a bit. "I'm just glad it's not hot in here like Efreet's temple…"

"Well I am here too you know, Sheena."

They ignored Zelos and continued on.

They reached the altar within a few minutes, the wind whipping violently through their hair. Kratos frowned a bit in distaste, it was so much chillier with the wind like this…but he wasn't about to complain.

"You said you already made the pact with Gnome, right?" Kratos asked. "This should be another broken link then…"

"Yup, if all goes well…okay, everyone ready?" the summoner asked.

"Of course we are; whenever you are, Sheena." Lloyd smiled

"Okay then…here we go."

Kratos curled his hands tighter around the hilt of his sword, readying himself to unsheathe it. Sylph the trio, archery, swordsmanship and a shield-wielder. Sephie they shouldn't have too much of a problem with, Fairess might be a pain but Presea could probably break her defenses, Yutis…as long as they didn't stay still too long she shouldn't be that much of a problem.

"We are the Sylph, we are the ones whom are bound to Mithos, who might you be?" Sephie asked, examining them all.

"I am Sheena, I ask that thou annulst thy pact with Mithos and establish a new pact with me."

"Very well, we the Sylph shall test thy worthiness."

"Yeah! Let's test out your power!" Fairess cheered.

"Finally we get to do something," Yutis huffed, drawing back her bow.

"Let's go!" Lloyd charged in, swords already at the ready.

Kratos followed his lead with the remainder of the group. He couldn't help but keep an eye on Lloyd as they all fought, despite having time enough where he could be healing some of the others when Raine was having trouble. Still he hovered near Lloyd, more obviously than he would have done previously he realized. There was no suspicion in doing so now, however, as they knew their relationship, so why risk staying further from Lloyd than necessary?

Hm…he really was starting to sound like a father, wasn't he?

Not that he minded.

For the most part he kept his position, maneuvering around when necessary, but keeping near enough to Lloyd but far enough so as not to hinder his son. A few spells here, a few parries and slashes there, they were holding their own very well. Winning, of course, but that was what he had expected. They had all advanced very much since he had last seen them-

Then he saw it.

It was remarkable how in a split second, things could go very wrong. He had lived long enough to know that, and had experienced it many times. It was the second you got relaxed, the second you became hopeful that one little thing fell out of place and your entire world came crashing down around it. It was always a little thing that spelled disaster. A few little things that came together…

Lloyd had dodged a wind spell, then a second after twisted around to parry one of Sephie's strikes, his back exposed openly to Yutis' oncoming arrow that raced for his heart.

If he had been normal, he would have been able to cross the distance. He would have been able to cross the distance, pull his blade and knock the arrow away even, if he didn't have enough time or mana to conjure Guardian. He wasn't normal, though, that is- he was normal now, but not what had become his own 'normal'. So he didn't cross the gap, he didn't block the arrow safely.

Instead he crossed the gap and took an arrow into his shoulder.

"Guh-!" he grunted, unable to stop himself for wincing in the pain.

"D- Dad-? Dad!"

"Dammit!" he cursed, feeling his legs grow week under him, gripping the arrow shaft.

It was inches, just inches away from a vital point. He had gotten lucky, but he wouldn't be able to use his sword-arm. He was useless-

"First Aid!" he heard Raine call.

The green mana surrounded him and he felt the pain from the wound dull, but it was still in no good position. His legs buckled and he cursed himself mentally, damning himself. Now he was useless, a liability, putting Lloyd in danger-

"Hold still!"

Raine was on him in seconds, tending to his wound. Her magic alone wouldn't heal it, not immediately, though it would dull the pain. He knew enough that to move could make the wound fatal, that he had to remain still. Raine had snapped at Lloyd to focus on the fight, as he should have done, had he been able to speak. Luckily the fight finished not too long after, and Lloyd rushed to his side the second Sylph had submitted.

"Dad-! Are you-?"

His russet eyes scanned Lloyd quickly, checking for wounds. He was fine. Good…good he was fine…

So…

"What were you doing turning your back?" he snapped, wincing from the exertion. "Do you realize how close that arrow came to piercing your heart-?"

"Do you know how close it came to yours?" Raine scowled, cutting him off. "Stop talking! You're wounded, don't snap at him!"

"Don't tell me what to do!" he snarled back at her, ignoring the pain, whipping his head back at Lloyd. "You could have been killed! You know better than to turn your back! Isn't that the first thing I taught- that you learned?"

A slip. Another slip. But he had covered it, covered it like all the others before.

So he thought.

"N- No…Dad…." Lloyd whispered, pale, staring down at him. "You didn't…"

He felt Raine's eyes narrow on him and instantly knew he had made a mistake.

"Lloyd," she snapped, her eyes locked on her patient. "This isn't the time to talk, I need to heal him, go over there with the others."

"But-"

"N- No, do as she says, Lloyd." Kratos shook his head, biting his lip. "I'll be…fine…you- you are all right, right?"

The teen hesitated and then nodded, looking down at his father. The former-Seraph relaxed a bit in relief, nodding his head.

"All right…go…I'm sorry I yelled at you."

Lloyd hesitated, giving a weak smile, forgiving him before he ran off. He had barely gotten out of earshot when Raine hissed to him.

"You faltered there," she growled, though tended to the wound.

"…I don't-"

"'That I taught' and then you changed it to 'You learned'." Her blue eyes met his, narrowed, icy.

"I was in pain and concerned for my son," he retaliated, gritting his teeth to abide the wound.

She said nothing, but he knew she hadn't simply accepted that. While there was not much she could get from that, no solid evidence, no proof, no confirmation…it was still yet another thing to add to the growing list of his 'slips'.

Damn it all….

"You're hiding something." Her voice cut in, flat, final.

"…" He closed his eyes, trying to get control of his thoughts. "I'm entitled to my own privacy as you are."

"You know that's not what I mean," she hissed, eying him.

"…You think I would pose a threat to my own child?" he said with just a hint of growl in his voice, meeting her eyes.

She eyed him, but looked away, concentrating once more on his wound. They said nothing, and it was shortly after that the rest of the group approached them anyway.

"Dad, are you okay?" Lloyd asked, frowning.

"He'll be fine with some rest, Lloyd, but any more fighting today is certainly out of the question," Raine stated as she got to her feet, wiping her hands off.

"I'm sorry," Kratos said, frowning. "I've become a burden on you."

"No, don't say that Mr. Scott!" Colette shook her head. "You saved Lloyd!"

"Yeah, you just did what any of us would have done," Genis added with a nod.

"Yeah, Dad, don't worry about that." Lloyd frowned, kneeling down by him. "You just worry about getting some rest okay?"

He observed his son and his companions, his eyes settling back on Lloyd. The becoming-familiar weak smile crept into his lips and he nodded.

"Don't- worry yourself, about me, Lloyd…" he said. "I'm just an old man anyway…"

Lloyd smiled back at him, concern still showing in those big brown eyes. Raine frowned from the side, he noted, but despite her suspicions he had just saved Lloyd's life; she wasn't about to accuse him. At least not right then…

"Well great, he's not going to be able to fly a rheaird with a busted arm." Zelos rolled his eyes. "So going back to Tethe'alla to pact Shadow is delayed I'm guessing?"

"Until his arm heals, then yes." Raine nodded. "However we might as well try to find information on Aska while we're in Sylvarant, though of course we're going to have to go on foot or use the EC…"

"Oh come on!"

"Oh get over it, you idiot Chosen," Sheena scoffed, crossing her arms and shifting her weight to her other leg. "It won't kill you to do some walking for a while."

"Aska…so- oh, I know!" Lloyd snapped his fingers. "That scientist guy that we met during the journey, remember, Professor? They saw Aska."

"Yes, they gave us those pretty-sounding nuts too, remember?" Colette smiled. "Maybe they can help us find him."

"That's our best option." Raine nodded in agreement. "We'll travel around and ask if anyone has seen Professor Nova, hopefully he'll be able to assist us…though still given the amount of time we'll need to locate Aska himself, we should probably still make the pact with Shadow first."

Kratos listened in, attempting to get to his feet with his good arm. It was surprisingly more difficult than he would have suspected, but no one noticed while Raine spoke. Well, of course that didn't' last long.

"Huh- woah! Dad, don't try to do that by yourself, you're hurt."

Before he could protest Lloyd had crouched down, wrapping his arms around his father and helping him get to his feet. Kratos frowned a bit, not pleased with his state, but quickly wiped away the expression when he noticed Lloyd's comforting smile. There was no need to worry the boy further, after all…

"Thank you," he said, trying not to let his uncertainty show in his voice. "I can walk on my own though…"

"Ar- Are you sure, Dad?"

The pain made his body want nothing more than to just sit down, but his pride conflicted sharply with that. It would hurt a bit, but he knew the wound would not worsen if he walked, so long as he was careful about it.

"Yes, Lloyd, I'm fine."

The trek back to the mainland from the temple certainly wasn't anything pleasant, at least not from his perspective. It was one thing to drag a group down, but not being able to even protect oneself and thus having to be protected by them? The humiliation he felt certainly did not know any bounds during that journey. It certainly didn't help much that Lloyd kept constantly asking if he needed to 'sit down for a moment'. Truthfully, yes, he did, but he wasn't going to admit that.

The body was terribly inconvenient as it was. Having to eat and drink, getting worn out by the slightest differentiations in temperature, the aching throb in his gaining bones and muscles. To think he had wanted this, had wanted to know what it felt like. Feh! What foolishness, granted he was an old man, in truth, but it's not like this body fit him anymore than his true one. If he had a body that fit his true age he would have a pile of dust instead of a body at all. Granted…aging would have its good points, it would be nice to finally die…

That is, only after he had made sure his son would not. If this had somehow happened once he had done what he needed to do, once he no longer had a need to raise his sword…yes, that would have been perfect. Still…beggars can't be choosers after all, and despite all the inconveniences this form had, it let him get close to his son.

"What is that you're making?"

Lloyd looked up from his whittling, sitting by him on a large log while the others were occupying themselves with building a fire. On foot they hadn't gotten very far, but that's all one could really expect. The sun was getting low, it'd set soon, thus it was imperative that they had camp up and running by then.

"Oh…I don't know yet." Lloyd admitted, looking at the piece of wood in his hands. "I guess uh..just whatever."

"You don't have a plan for it?" he asked, tilting his head a bit.

"No, I guess, why?"

"…You're just like your mother." He chuckled softly. "I always envied that…the ability to just…'go with the flow' as they say."

"You sound old when you say that." Lloyd smirked, a teasing glint in his eyes.

"Well that could be because I am." He shrugged, letting out a tired sigh.

"Mr. Scott, I have to change your bandages," Raine interrupted, causing both swordsmen to look up from their spot on the log.

"…Yes, of course." He nodded. "Please do, Miss Sage."

She nodded curtly, eying Lloyd as he made some space for her. The half-elf said nothing much, going straight to her task at hand. Kratos expected..something, a look, a hushed accusation, but nothing came; much to his relief.

"You should heal fine if you don't' push yourself for the next week or so…"

A week? He'd have to deal with this for a week?

"Now don't make that face, if you didn't have an exsphere you wouldn't even be able to walk right now." She huffed a bit. "Honestly…"

A thought seemed to occur to the woman, as her blue eyes scanned Kratos and then Lloyd, the gears working away in her mind.

"W- What is it, Professor? " Lloyd asked, fidgeting under her scrutiny.

"Nothing. I was just noting…" she frowned. "Nevermind. Now then, Lloyd, you've been neglecting your homework."

Lloyd choked.

"W- What? Homework? But Professor-"

"No buts, I realize you've been occupied as of late, but that's no excuse." She scowled, crossing her arms over her torso. "I want that math done by tomorrow afternoon."

Lloyd groaned deeply, completely missing the look his teacher gave his father right before she walked away. Kratos frowned. What had she 'noted'? Was she onto something? Or was he just being paranoid, and had she just been noting a resemblance? It was an odd thing, admittedly, to not have to be worried if someone recognized a resemblance between him and his own son.

"I hate math," Lloyd grumbled beside him.

"Most people do," Kratos said, scanning his son. "…From what she tells me you're not exactly very efficient at it either."

The teen fell silent, and for a moment Kratos wondered if he was trying to pretend he didn't hear him.

"I- I just- what's the point of it? Numbers are just numbers, they don't fix anything, they don't tell you how to deal with real stuff," he huffed, crossing his arms in a pout. "Numbers didn't help us find out how to separate the two worlds, numbers didn't help us cure Colette…"

"…You think in terms of things being 'useful', hm?" he mused to himself, scanning his son. "All right then, think of it this way…"

He moved a bit so he could face Lloyd, wincing just a bit at the protesting pain from his shoulder. Lloyd hesitated, concern showing in his eyes again when Kratos cut him off.

"Everything you can learn or learn how to use has value," he said, looking down at his son. "Everything you learn can help you find out how to learn other things. Think of it like… Where is your mathwork?"

"Huh-? Uh-"

"Show me."

Lloyd fidgeted just a bit, a light pink shade coming to his cheeks. Nonetheless he pulled out the papers from his pack, handing them to Kratos and then fidgeting in his seat. It wasn't hard to see why…his math was horrendous.

"...Division," Kratos said, restraining a sigh. "All right…think of it this way…say this is the amount of gald it costs for one pair of swords."

"Uh…okay." Lloyd nodded, eying his father as if he was trying to fathom how he could possibly relate swords to math.

"And this is the amount of gald you have," Kratos pointed to the other number. "If you use division, you can find out how many swords you can get."

Lloyd blinked, staring at his father and then scanning the equation. The aging man nearly sighed, beginning to reconsider his approach when Lloyd's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Fifty."

"What?" Kratos blinked, looking up at him.

"Fifty," he said again.

Kratos scanned the problem, a faint glimmer of hope that his son had miraculously done it correctly- no, no he got it wrong. The ex-angel sighed.

"No, Lloyd, the answer is twenty-five-"

"No it's not, it's fifty," the boy pouted stubbornly. "You said how many swords you can get. There are fifty swords. You didn't ask me how many pairs, you said swords."

Kratos stared at him. Wait…had he really…? His russet eyes scanned the numbers again. There were rather large, for Lloyd anyway, or so he had thought… To have done it all in his head that quickly and getting a wrong number was almost impressive, for Lloyd. But…no, no he was …right. So he had managed to figure out the number of pairs and also had the sense to realize that doubled the amount…?

"That's still stupid though, why would you need fifty swords?" Lloyd huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Math is stupid."

…The boy was an enigma…

Though…it did rather make him happy to see there was in fact hope.

**Yaaaaaay I updated itsss hope you all liked, I had a lot of fun with Kratos' little math lesson **

**Review ? **


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter eight I like this story, so much fluff is able to be wrenched from it I mean…uh…given **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing still.**

"Dad, are we done yet?"

Kratos sighed, placing down the paper and rubbing his face with his good hand.

"Lloyd, you're fully capable of doing all this, why do you get such dismal grades?"

The teen stiffened, glance at his father and then away, slumping a little bit.

"I- …I mean, why? What's the point of it?"

"Why wouldn't you want to better yourself, Lloyd?" Kratos looked at him, tiling his head a bit.

Lloyd was quiet a moment, scanning his father and then his homework, biting his lip. The teen seemed to consider his words a moment, strumming his fingers on his leg.

"I…I don't know, I guess I never thought of it that way," he muttered.

"…You're very intelligent, Lloyd, you just need to apply yourself," Kratos said.

Lloyd jerked, staring wide-eyed at his father.

"Wh- what? You think I'm smart? But- but I get horrible grades-"

"Because you don't try," Kratos said. "I'm certain if you really put the effort into it you could do very well. Yes you don't get good grades but that's because you don't try, not because you're not smart. You're very intelligent."

There was a long moment where the boy merely stared at his father, and Kratos began to wonder if he had said something wrong. Had he slipped? He didn't see how he could have, but-

Lloyd snatched the paper.

"Okay…if- if I do this then I'm done for tonight, right?" Lloyd asked, glancing nervously at his father.

"…Yes, according to Professor Sage."

Lloyd frowned and then nodded, placing down the paper and beginning to scribble madly on it. Kratos raised an eyebrow, watching his son work. That was…an unexpected result, he had to admit… What had he done differently? Or was it just the idea of getting this done with for the night? That was possible…

"Okay, I'm done," Lloyd declared after a minute. "Can- do you …want to check it for me?"

The ex-Seraph eyed his son a moment, nodding and taking it from him. He was acting oddly… Kratos scanned Lloyd's work, a small smirk working into his face as he checked them over. Yes…he had done them correctly. A small bubble of what he dared hope was pride swelled up in his chest, nodding with a small smile.

"Very good. Hand it in to Miss Sage and you're done."

Lloyd's eyes lit up and he nodded, taking the paper and scrambling over to the half-elven woman. There was a bounce in his step, a smile on his face, but he couldn't understand what had caused the sudden change…

It wasn't until later that night, when Lloyd and most of the group had fallen asleep did he discover the reasoning. He sat by the fire, staring into it, watching the flames dance and cast their red glow over Lloyd's sleeping form.

"...He really admires you."

Kratos twitched, glancing up as Raine approached, her skeptic gaze obvious even in the dim light. The woman sat down beside him, looking over his wound.

"I don't think he's ever been so proud of himself," Raine said softly. "He's been trying to impress you, you know. Ever since you joined up with us he's been working so hard trying to impress you."

"…But…why?" Kratos frowned, glancing over at his son.

"…All children want to earn their father's approval," she said, eyeing him intently.

"But I…" he hesitated, frowning. "I killed his mother…I…lost him."

"Yes, but even still he wants nothing more than you to be proud of him," she said. "That's why he was so eager to do his work…I was surprised, I'll admit it, but…"

Kratos said nothing, sitting in silence while Raine redressed his wound. After a moment the woman pulled back, though continued to sit by him, watching him.

"Look… It's not that I don't believe you're his father," she said finally. "I believe you are. However I still don't buy you are exactly who you say you are."

He tried not to tense, instead sat there, trying to think of the appropriate response.

"And I don't think you're lying about the things you tell Lloyd, about his mother, about his childhood…but…"

"What could I be lying about?" he asked, meeting her eyes.

Raine flinched a bit, her eyes narrowing as she met his. Kratos frowned and she jabbed a finger in his face.

"That. There it is, right there," she growled, her eyes locked with his.

"What?"

It occurred to him then, that his eyes hadn't changed. He felt his skin pale just a bit, but…no, surely she couldn't come to that conclusion? No one could possibly conclude to themselves that someone had changed their entire body on a whim.

"…You're very…reminiscent of this man we knew," she said finally, frowning.

"Am I?" he tilted his head just a bit. "Hm…strange."

"Perhaps it's something that comes with being a mercenary, hm?" Raine said, backing off a bit but still eying him. "Then it's possible you had a similar history, who knows…he didn't say much about himself."

"May I ask who you are talking about?" he said.

"Kratos," she said flatly. "The mercenary that betrayed us."

"…I see," Kratos said, looking over at Lloyd. "Lloyd was…hurt, by him…"

"Yes," Raine said flatly, scanning him still. "…"

"Are you quite done, Miss Sage?" he asked somewhat irritably."

Raine glared at him in reply, but said nothing, drawing back from him.

"Try to get some rest, you need to heal quickly."

Did he ever…

The morning trek had been…aggravating, to say the least. Not only was it slow goings but he was completely useless. How could he be expected to just wait off to the side, to be protected when everyone else was fighting? He had been fighting for four-thousand years, he was not going to simply accept being a non-combatant. It was humiliating….

"We should stop in Luin," Lloyd said after a while. "It's been a while since the ranch, and Pietro said they were going to work on rebuilding."

"Luin…." Kratos said softly.

"Have you been there, Dad?" Lloyd asked, his eyes flashing to his father.

"Yes," he answered, looking at him. "It's where your mother was from."

Lloyd twitched and then grinned, nodding at him to confirm he heard. A small smile spread on Kratos' face; Lloyd had been beginning to make that a habit. Instead of bombarding him with another stream of questions once he had been told something he instead just smiled, accepting the fact to himself before the inevitably questions came forward again.

"Okay, then let's stop by and see if we can help out with the city."

"Yeah I guess it's not like we'll be able to get on with the pactmaking until the old man is better." Zelos said with a shrug.

Kratos simply ignored him. It seemed to be the best way of dealing with him, it's what everyone else did after all. So then it was they continued to the city, and Kratos began slowly to dread it. Not that he did not wish to see what work had been done to the town, but he knew in his current state there was no way he was going to be able to properly assist, not that Raine or Lloyd would let him.

When they arrived it was…surprising, to say the least. Kratos' eyes widened just a bit, scanning the surroundings. The city was nearly rebuilt! In such a short time…? A small smile flitted onto his face. Then, the people of this city always were tenacious…persistent, headstrong. Just like Anna had been, it seemed, the entire city seemed raring to go again so soon after such devastation…

He missed her horribly…

It seemed so long ago- and perhaps it was, really…fourteen years. That was long by human standards, wasn't it? He had ceased being human so long ago he wasn't sure anymore, attached to nothing, watching nothing grow- …that was until he was born.

Kratos eyed Lloyd, who had turned to the group and was talking excitedly, about the city, he gathered. He had gotten so tall…he had grown, he had aged…so quickly, much too quickly. His face fell.

The little boy that had run up to him and begged to be put on his shoulders, the toddler that came crying to Anna whenever he hurt himself, the child that had tugged his hair when he tried to read him bedtime stories…that soft round face and those big brown eyes. His little boy, already a man, Anna would be so proud- he was sure she was. She had always been proud of Lloyd, even for the most mundane things.

"Dad? Are you okay? You're kinda zoning out."

"Hm-? Ah, yes, my- I'm sorry, Lloyd." He shook his head. "Yes I was just- …thinking."

"Isn't it great, Dad?" Lloyd grinned, as excited as he had been as a child over dessert. "Look! It's almost rebuilt! We're going to pitch I and-…oh, uh, do you want to sit down somewhere? I mean you're hurt-"

He sighed. There it was. He had been expecting it, sure, but still…

"I'll be fine, Lloyd," he said. "I might not be able to assist but…if you don't mind I'd like to stay with you while you work."

"Of course, Dad." Lloyd smiled.

He hadn't even need to think about it. Just 'of course'. Had he told Lloyd the truth, before this had happened, would things have eventually wound up like this? …No…not likely. It was only because of this, only because of this lie…this deceitful truth. For a moment he wasn't sure if this guilt was any better than the one he had held within him during the Regeneration Journey.

To his shame he did in fact end up sitting down well before Lloyd and his friends decided they were tired enough to take a break. He had tried to remain steadfast, it's not like he had been doing anything after all, aside from handing parts to Lloyd with his good arm, but by the time the sun was edging lower in the sky he had been exhausted. The sun seemed too hot, the dust from the construction irritated him, and his muscles ached…was this what it was like to get old? How irritating….he had been so used to his eternal youth he had practically forgotten what it was like to become tired- at least, physically. He was irritated but at least they were calling it a day. He made no complaints about staying in the city that night and was even content to sit among the group as they talked about the various projects going on about the city, amusing accidents that had occurred during their work, and various blisters and bruises.

"So, who's cooking tonight?" Sheena asked, yawning as she laid back.

"Not me, I'm exhausted," Zelos whined loudly.

"I cooked last night!" Genis huffed.

He wasn't sure what had possessed him, just then, but Kratos spoke up.

"If someone will assist me, I'll be able to cook well enough with my left arm," he stated.

The group looked at him, as if it was incredibly strange for him to speak up- then again, he supposed it kind of was. It- it was, after all…he never really volunteered for anything, and when he did do things around camp before hand he had simply done it. This wasn't that much different, really, yet it still seemed a little…

"I'll help you Mister Scott!" Colette smiled.

"That's okay, Colette," Lloyd said quickly. "I'll help Dad, you just try to relax okay?"

Colette hesitated but then nodded, Lloyd smiling as he got to his feet. Kratos looked at him before getting to his own, grimacing a bit at the pop in his bones as he did so. Zelos smirked a bit but the former-Seraph ignored him, walking to the kitchen. It had been used strenuously as of late, that was obvious, but there were very few working kitchens in the city as of then. Many had been taking turns with it, and Pietro had just gotten their own time slot.

"Okay, Dad, what'd you need?" Lloyd smiled up at him.

"…"

"…Dad? Dad is something wrong?"

"No." He lied softly. "Just tired…"

"Oh- uh-"

"Just get some water boiling," he said, beginning to look through their cooking supplies. "Then start chopping some broccoli-"

"Broccoli?" Lloyd muttered, trying not to sound disgusted.

"Yes, broccoli," Kratos said. "Don't complain, they're very beneficial to muscle development and cardiac health."

"..Cardi…"

"Your heart," Kratos explained, placing some ingredients on the counter.

"Oh."

"…Your mother could never get you to eat it." Kratos said, a light smirk coming to his face. "She would have to keep you there for hours before you'd take a bite. So she'd make this, and you'd eat it right up, seconds even, at times thirds."

Lloyd eyed him.

"…What are we making?"

"Alfredo," Kratos said, inspecting a clove of garlic. "You were fond of the sauce, Anna swore you'd even eat tomatoes if she put it on them…you didn't of course, but she tried."

"I…don't think I've had that-at least not in a long time-..I mean I've had it of course since you gave it to me when I was little, just-"

"I know what you mean," the man let out a soft chuckle. "It's all right, I won't be upset or anything if you don't like it any longer."

He had to say, he did in fact enjoy such a simple thing as cooking with his son. It was rather nice to …tell him what to do, to teach him, for something that wasn't life or death. It was like Lloyd was young again, where when he had taught him things it had been for the sake of teaching him, not for the fate of his life or others' lives… Still he found his thoughts darkening. How long did he expect to do this? Wouldn't it only be a matter of time before someone found out? What if- what if whatever had done this wore off, what would he do then? A nag in the back of his mind told him, and he knew it, that he couldn't keep lying forever. Something would give, Cruxis, Yuan, or just something he himself would bring about would bring this crashing down around him- ..and Lloyd. Lloyd…how would he- how would he take this? How would he react when he found out? ..Was there any way at all that he could spare his son pain from this entire situation? Was he just destined to forever hurt his son?

"Lloyd…" he said softly, turning to look at him.

"Yeah, Dad?"

"…If- …Lloyd I want you to know that if something happens…" He frowned, turning back to his work. "I want you to know your mother and I …love you very much."

Lloyd slowed in his own work, turning warily to eye his father, whom didn't look back at him.

"Dad- what are you saying? Nothing's going to-"

"I just want you to know that Anna loved you and that no matter what happens…I love you as well."

"I- Is this about what happened with Sylph?" Lloyd frowned, eying his father's wound. "Look- I'm sorry, I'll be more careful next time. Just- nothing is going to happen because we won't let it happen, right?"

"…"

"Dad-"

"Promise me you'll remember that, Lloyd." Kratos finally looked at him. "…Please."

The teen fidgeted, obviously uncomfortable with what his father was saying. Still, he nodded, then desperately tried to change the subject, about his mother, his childhood…whatever would alleviate the tension that had descended upon him. Kratos remained tense, gradually relaxing and becoming more engaged in the conversation with Lloyd. It…well for now, he didn't have to concern himself about it, right now he could let himself talk with his son.

It was later that night when he laid there in the darkness, staring up into the abyss as sleep eluded him. What was he doing? Besides..if the pacts did not work, then what? That left only the sword-…and his fate to that matter was unavoidable. …It would have been easier, for the traitor Kratos to die for Lloyd, but…Richard his 'father'….

Had he just messed things up even more?

**M'kay sorry if this was a little fillerish, but given my workload right now it's a miracle I manage to update this at all . Finals coming up…uggghhh**

**Well, next chapter is back to Tethe'alla n.n so we'll get back into the swing of things yesh? **

**Hope you liked!**


	9. Chapter 9

**An update, you may rejoice. Lol just kidding.**

**Disclaimer: Still own nothing.**

"I can't see a thing!"

"Well it is the Temple of Darkness; did you expect it not to be dark?" Kratos asked, unable to keep the amusement out of his voice.

"Yeah yeah, Dick, go ahead and laugh not like you realized it'd be this bad either."

"Obviously we're going to have to find some way to illuminate the area before we proceed," Kratos said, ignoring the redhead Chosen.

"Hmm…oh, why don't we ask my friends at the research institute?" Sheena suggested. "They've done research her before, so they should know a way in right?'

"So we'll head for Meltokio then," Raine said. "All right everyone let's go."

"Yeah- oof!"

A thud was heard and the group flinched, though more at the sound of their leader's pratfall than for the sake of Zelos' yelp about his foot.

"Lloyd, are you all right?" Kratos asked, not masking the concern in his voice.

"Y- yeah, just tripped, sorry…I'm okay."

"What no one cares about my foot?"

"No," Kratos said flatly. "If anything you are probably the one that tripped him up. Now then let's hurry on and head for Mel-….it is Meltokio, correct?"

He caught himself well, as Raine didn't seem to notice any kind of slip when she confirmed the city name for him.

"Yes, let's be on our way."

Of course, given the situation of wanted status the group was required to once again traverse the sewers. Kratos didn't complain , he had endured far worse conditions over his lifetime, and told the group such when he appeared undaunted by their endeavor.

"Wow, really? Something worse than this?" Genis raised an eyebrow.

"You see a lot of things when you travel for a living." Kratos tilted his head a bit. "For instance on one boat-ride some friends and I came across an island completely inhabited by Katz."

"…Wow you really have been around huh?" Sheena stared.

"I suppose that's one thing you could say…"

"You could also say he's old," Zelos said.

"Yes, we have established I'm elderly." Kratos snapped flatly, trying not to show his irritation.

"Come on Zelos, give him a break," Genis said, frowning a bit. "Why do you hate him so much?"

"I never said I hated him, I just don't like him, what's wrong with that?"

Kratos frowned a bit. While he honestly didn't care what his or most of the group's opinion was on him, it did seem a bit odd the Chosen would be so blatantly …disagreeable toward him. Did he…did he know something, perhaps? No, that was ridiculous, how could he? But he did act toward him much how he had acted to 'Kratos' when they crossed paths in Cruxis' little games…

However, nothing eventful really seemed to happen. They made their way out of the sewers and into the city well enough, they even managed to get to the laboratory fine. Things were almost going smoothly…that was until they heard about what had happened to Kate.

"Kate?" Kratos frowned.

For once he didn't have to pretend, he truly had no idea who this woman was.

"She helped us escape when we were arrested in Sybak," Lloyd told him. "Then she told us what to do to help Presea with her exsphere- dammit! She got arrested because of us, didn't she?"

"Just calm down, Lloyd," Kratos said, looking at his son. "If you don't have a clear head you won't be able to help her and are more likely to get yourself and others in danger as well."

Lloyd was still a moment, then slowly glanced up at his father. Kratos tried not to stiffen at the look Lloyd gave him, a questioning, almost horrified look, like there was something he was realizing but was fervently trying to deny to himself.

"Lloyd?" he said. "Is something…wrong?"

"N- No," Lloyd replied stubbornly. "Y – You're right. Just- yeah, you're right. We have to find out some way to help her though."

"Please save Kate!" one researched exclaimed. "If you do, we'll give you the candle and anything else you need, just-"

"Don't worry, we'll save her," Colette smiled. "Uh- where is she being held?"

"The prison block is connected to the coliseum," Regal spoke up. "We could likely get to her through the Coliseum if we were to enter a tournament…"

"Really? Okay then, we've got a plan." Lloyd nodded with a smile. "Let's go."

There really wasn't much more to it than that. They went to the coliseum and were soon debating on who should enter, there was nothing much to it-

That was until Lloyd volunteered.

And that dormant parental instinct launched onto Kratos' psyche like a rabid wolf.

"Alone? Are you sure you can handle that?"

Lloyd twitched, scowling a bit as his ears began to tinge red.

"W- what? Of course I can handle it Dad, come on, it's just a match."

"Awwwww Daddy is protective," Zelos grinned, patting Lloyd on the head.

"Shut up, Zelos!" Lloyd scowled, smacking his hand away.

Kratos frowned and in the back of his mind somehow he recalled something Anna once said to him.

'When he gets older you better not embarrass him in front of his friends'.

Wait…embarrass him? Had he done that? Well- he had, he knew, but that was when he was posing as a mercenary and then a Cruxian angel, humiliating him in hopes to spurn him to strive in his training. That wasn't like this though, he had shown genuine concern for his son-…'protective'? …Was he being- over-protective? Hah, the very idea was ridiculous. After all, not only had he left his son to the blades of others but he had risen his own against him…

"Look I'll go, and I'll be fine," Lloyd said with some emphasis on the last word, glancing pointedly at the elder swordsman. "Okay?"

"…" Kratos nodded. "All right then, just-…be careful."

Lloyd looked at him a moment before nodding, walking up to the receptionist desk. For a moment Kratos thought he might have to step in when the girl working there recognized him, but Raine managed to handle that situation deftly.

"The rest of you can watch from the observation area," the girl told them. "Please enjoy yourselves."

"All right, well here I go," Lloyd said to the group.

"Don't do anything reckless." Raine and Kratos said in unison.

Lloyd's eye twitched slightly but he nodded, then headed for the competitors wing.

"…I suppose that is your role from now on after all," Raine said after a moment, glancing at Kratos.

"Hmph, not at all, you are his teacher, there is nothing wrong with that." Kratos closed his eyes. "Now then let's …prepare, shall we?"

They had to manage to sneak Kate out once Lloyd got her, after all. Lloyd would have no problems getting her out of the jail they knew, but sneaking her out of the coliseum and the city was another matter. They had managed on their way there to get a traveling cloak that would conceal her that was common in color enough that wouldn't draw attention. It were just the transition into and out of the Coliseum atrium…

Despite that, they all did manage to get out of the city quickly and in one piece. Kratos let out a sigh of relief as Raine quickly began to examine Kate for wounds.

"She says she wants to go to Ozette," Lloyd explained to the group.

"Ozette? But Ozette is in shambles right now." Sheena frowned.

"She says it's where she was born," Lloyd said.

"Please, I-…I'd like to go back there, please."

The group exchanged glances before settling their gaze on Lloyd, who nodded.

And that was that.

Ozette was as they had said, in shambles. Kratos frowned as they walked into the destroyed town, trying not to let his guilt be seen. This had been Cruxis' bidding, he knew, though he hadn't been there when the attack had been issued thus couldn't have stopped it, it was the organization that he was part of that had done this-

…No. No it wasn't. Not anymore.

He closed his eyes, confirming it to himself. Not anymore. He wasn't a Seraph anymore, wasn't a Cruxian anymore, wasn't-…wasn't…technically 'Kratos' anymore. He was just Lloyd's father, and that was all he wanted to be.

Kratos remained silent as Kate thanked them and was content to merely listen quietly as she talked with the group. Apparently she was the daughter of an elf and the pope…the very man who had sentenced her to death. He frowned a bit at that but had no need to voice his thoughts seeing as Genis did for all of them.

"Y- your father? How – how could your own father do something like that?" Genis shook his head, his teeth gritted tightly.

Of course Genis would be upset, he was a half-elf himself after all, but-

"Please don't do anything bad to my father," Kate whispered.

"What? Why! He's done bad things to you!" Genis scowled.

"Well- yes but…he's still my father," Kate said, her eyes downcast. "Even- when he only wanted me around to experiment with exspheres, even when I knew it was wrong, I- I was happy. I was happy my father finally needed me. I- I just-"

"A father should never 'need' their child," Kratos said softly, frowning as he too looked at the ground. "A child should need their father, if a father 'needs' their child for any reason, they are not doing their job. They are supposed to be there to support and protect their children, not to use them."

Silence fell and he felt the eyes on him. He frowned a bit more but looked up, meeting Kate's eyes.

"There are no horrible children, Miss Kate," he said. "Yes some may be more…difficult than others, but it is never the child's job to protect or care for their parent. It is the parent's duty to do that for their children, and if they do not do such…they are not worthy of the title."

He knew that very well, didn't he? He was a horrible father, he knew it, he had lost his son, endangered him, betrayed him, lied to him-…he was…still, lying to him. He was still…not worthy to be called-

"Dad?" Lloyd said.

"…You shouldn't ever allow yourself to feel poorly of yourself because of what someone that claims to be a 'father' has or hasn't done," he said, unsure for a moment who he was addressing. "So do not. A real parent would wish only for your happiness and welfare, if they do not wish for that for you, then take it for yourself."

"I…" Kate looked at him a moment, then glanced at Lloyd, then back. "…Who…are you, sir?"

"…"

"This is Richard," Raine said, eyeing the swordsman herself. "…I believe he knows what he's talking about."

"I- See…" Kate said, looking away. "I- Thank you for helping me, and thank you for…that, I just- I need some time to think. Please…"

"O- Of course," Lloyd nodded. "Are you sure you're going to be okay?"

"Yes…thank you."

With that she left.

She was barely out of sight when Lloyd quickly grabbed Kratos' arm, causing the taller man to look at him.

"…Dad-" Lloyd started, then hesitated. "Dad-…Is- is that how you feel?"

Kratos frowned.

"Of course it is, I meant that, a parent should-"

"No I know you mean that," Lloyd shook his head. "I mean- I mean is that how you feel about- about the kind of dad you are?"

Kratos nearly choked, staring down at his son. What? Had he really been so easy to read, so transparent? How- how had Lloyd managed to see that- ?

"I-"

"You already said how you feel guilty and Da-…Dirk, said that you didn't think you 'deserved'-…you're not like that okay? You're nothing like the pope. I- I know I don't know you very well yet, really, but I know enough to know you're a good person." Lloyd smiled weakly.

Kratos tried to think of a response, but nothing came to him. What was he supposed to say? What could he say without ruining his guise or betraying his emotions?

And as if that wasn't enough:

"I trust you, Dad."

The man stared at his son a moment but the boy didn't notice, smiling as he turned to his friends, then turned serious.

"…We should head for the temple of darkness-…Genis, are you okay?"

Lloyd frowned, noting the half-elf's sulking demeanor.

"Huh-? I- …I…I just-"

Lloyd walked over and put his hand on Genis' shoulder.

"People can do bad things, Genis, a lot of people can- most people hurt each other," he said, frowning a bit. "That's how the world is, but that's why we have to change it, right? That's why we have to be different and try to help people, so we can change it, right?'

Genis looked up at him a moment, then hung his head, nodding with a little sniff.

"I just- how- how could he have done that to her just because-"

"Everyone is different, but we all have the same heart." Lloyd smiled weakly. "We all hurt when we're rejected and we all want to have friends and people that care about us. That's the same, it'll always be the same, so someday everyone will see that, okay? I know it."

Kratos stared at his son, trying to control the churning mix of emotions in his chest. Anna would be proud, he thought, as he watched his son reassure his friend. Anna would …have been so proud of their son.

Not of him, though.

She would have been so ashamed…even now, she would be ashamed, wouldn't she? She would tell him to tell Lloyd the truth, to come clean but-but…

He couldn't…

"Okay everyone," Lloyd said. "Let's head back for the temple and make that pact with Shadow."

"It'll be getting late by the time we get there." Regal observed. "Perhaps we should set up camp nearby the temple when we arrive and enter it in the morning."

"Yes, I agree." Raine nodded. "It's been a long day and we all need our rest."

The group chimed their agreement and they were off again. No one talked again much as they mounted the rheairds and headed back for the mountain range. While the group did chat a bit as they flew about this and that, Kratos remained silent, frowning as he went through what had just happened with Kate. What he had said, what Lloyd said, what Anna would have said….

What was the right thing to do? What should he do?

By the time they landed to make camp he still wasn't any closer to resolving those questions as he had been when he thought them up. Wordlessly he went about helping making camp but stopped shortly into it, finding that his muscles were aching in protest. With a groan the man sat himself down, letting out a sigh of relief when his body rested.

Being old was such an inconvenience…

"Tired, Dad?" Lloyd asked as he approached the camp, a bundle of firewood in his arms.

"A little," he said with a frown. "But I'm fine."

Lloyd nodded as he set the wood by the campfire, then turned and walked back down to sit beside him.

"…Uh- Dad, about…earlier."

"Hm?" Kratos looked at him.

"At- the coliseum." Lloyd frowned, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Ah," Kratos said and then when Lloyd didn't continue, he did. "I embarrassed you, didn't I?"

"W- Wh-? N- No that's not what-…." Lloyd sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I just…you know, I- I didn't really mind at first- I really don't mind, I guess, that you worry about be and all just- …After a couple times it just seems like you think I just can't take care of myself-"

"So I embarrassed you."

"I-"

Kratos looked at him, his head tilted slightly.

Lloyd looked at him a moment before releasing a sigh of defeat.

"Okay- …maybe a little bit. I just-…" Lloyd frowned. "I…I don't know how to really…do this, you know? Like I told you earlier. I want to …get along with you and all. So then I think that if I do the wrong thing that maybe it'll just mess things up and we won't get along and-"

A soft laugh escaped Kratos and Lloyd stared at him, the elder swordsman closing his eyes, a weak little half-smile on his face.

"You've been thinking about this a lot, haven't you?" he asked.

"I-…well-…"

"Don't worry, Lloyd." Kratos looked at him. "No matter what you do, I will always- …I will always love you."

Lloyd blinked, his cheeks flushing light pink as he looked aside, scratching the tip of his nose.

"Uh-"

"No one heard me," Kratos half sighed half chuckled, the small smile working back into his lips. "I'll try to be more conscious of your feelings when I do things that could potentially embarrass you. Does that make you feel better?"

"I-"

"Unless of course you're about to do something reckless," Kratos said abruptly, glancing at him. "In which case I'll scold you openly, your pride will heal but not all wounds will do the same."

Lloyd twitched.

"I-…Dad?" Lloyd frowned, looking uneasy suddenly.

"…What is it?"

"I- just- …"

Lloyd scanned him a moment and Kratos felt himself tense under the scrutinizing gaze. What? Had he- he slipped up. Of course, what he had just said was too much like what 'Kratos' would have said-

"Dad," Lloyd said again. "I-…"

Then quite suddenly the teen hugged him. Kratos flinched, staring down at the brown hair, stunned, wondering what his son was doing.

"L- Lloyd? What is it-?"

"You-you're you," Lloyd mumbled, though Kratos could tell it was more to himself. "You're my dad…you're Dad."

"…Lloyd-" Kratos frowned, concerned.

"Nothing. I'm okay." Lloyd pulled away suddenly, though he didn't look at him. "I just-…had to remind myself for a moment."

The teen stood before Kratos could say anything.

"I'm going to go see what the others are doing, okay?" the teen smiled weakly. "You just try to rest, I know you're tired."

Lloyd walked off and Kratos stared after him, puzzled and concerned. What had come over him so quickly? What did he mean 'remind' himself-…. He had scared him. He scared him right then, he realized. For his…'father' to sound too much like…the traitor.

For him to sound too much like himself, he'd terrified Lloyd. It had terrified Lloyd to hear his father talk like 'Kratos'.

For the first time in eons Kratos felt as if he was going to be sick.

**Wow I'm really mean to them aren't I.**

…**Well if you think I'm mean now just wait until the cat gets out of the bag x3 MWAHAHAHHA**

**Review?**


	10. Chapter 10

**Yeah I started writing this chapter pretty quickly after updating the last one. Huh…not sure why.**

**Disclaimer: Own nothing I do**

**Happy chapter ten! **

"All right! Just one more to go." Lloyd grinned, congratulating Sheena as she walked away from the altar.

"Yes, just one more…" Raine said.

"Yeah-…you know, I've been thinking though." Lloyd frowned a bit.

"Wow trying something new, Bud?"

"Hah hah." Their ignoble leader rolled his eyes. "But I mean…when we broke the Light Seal in Sylvarant, Luna was telling us that she wanted us to find Aska, right? So we're going to have to find Aska first before we can make the pact with Luna, aren't we?"

"Oh yeah, that's a good point." Genis frowned. "How are we going to go about doing that?"

"Perhaps we should discuss this one we are all safely out," Regal spoke up. "This isn't the most ideal place for a conversation."

"I agree, this place gives me the creeps," Sheena shuddered. "Let's get back outside."

"Right." Lloyd nodded. "Okay- wait, is everyone all right? That was a pretty tough fight."

Everyone chimed in their responses, reaching the consensus that they were all in good shape. That was except for Kratos who stood at the back of the group, masking that he was breathing heavily.

"Dad?" Lloyd spoke up. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Kratos said quickly. "Just a little tired. Let's go."

The red-clad teen seemed to debate something for a second before nodding, turning and leading his friends back up the way they came. Kratos brought up the back of the group as they headed back up the stairs-

The stairs. So many damn stairs, his legs were aching. He'd been through this temple before when he had escorted other Chosen from Tethe'alla on their own regeneration journeys; he did not remember them being this arduous in the least. The monsters were harder than he recalled as well, and Shadow- for the love of the gods, if he had had his angelic capabilities he could've downed him in a few well aimed angelic spells, but no, instead he spent the entire time running about, doing basically ineffectual damage with a blade in between his intervals of speedcasting healings and attacks. It sapped the mana right out of him, so if the damn stairs weren't enough now there was his lack of mana- and why hadn't he returned to his normal breathing pattern yet-? Were the stairs swaying or was he imagining things?

Could it be…he had pushed himself too hard? Was that it? He had pushed his limits, something he had constantly told Lloyd to be wary of, and he had done it himself? But he had barely contributed as it was! Then again, he reminded himself, this wasn't an angelic body, it wasn't even a young non-angelic body. It felt like his muscles ached to his very bones, the wound he had taken a few days prior in his shoulder still ached as well. Being old was such a hassle, why on Earth had he wished for this-? No, just calm down, he told himself. He was being irritable because he was tired, he knew, that was it, just keep up with the group and rest when you get out-

Then he missed the step.

He fell forward and slammed down onto his bad shoulder, unable to stop himself from letting out a short shout of pain. The man growled under his breath, teeth gritted as he attempted to push himself back to his feet, though he already heard the others coming.

"Are you okay-?"

"I'm fine," he said instantly. "I just-"

He forced himself up only for his aching body to scream in protest, and then he fell forward again, passing out before he fell into his son's arms.

* * *

Lloyd frowned, adjusting the blanket around the elder man's shoulders. It was getting dark so it'd get cold and the last thing they'd need was for him to get sick too.

"Lloyd, I told you, he's just tired," Raine sighed. "He pushed himself too hard."

"…Is that my fault?" Lloyd frowned, his fingers curling a bit as he looked at the unconscious man.

"What?" Raine looked at him. "Lloyd don't be ridiculous, he knew his own limits, it was his own fault-"

"I should've noticed," Lloyd said flatly, frowning. "I never notice. I didn't notice when Colette was pushing herself, I never notice…dammit."

Raine frowned, eying her student and then the exhausted older swordsman that had yet to stir. She had assured Lloyd that he would be fine with a little rest, but the teen didn't seem to be consoled.

"Professor…can I ask you something?"

"Hm?" Raine looked back at him.

"I've…been thinking a lot, lately." Lloyd frowned, his eyes downcast. "I mean- so many things have happened lately, you know? Not just with…him, but…since this journey started."

"Yes, a lot has happened," Raine agreed, but waited for him to continue.

Lloyd stared at the ground a moment before getting to his feet, glancing down at his father and then meeting Raine's eyes.

"I keep messing up," he said after a moment, a weak, sad smile on his face. "I just keep messing up, don't I? First the village, then Marble, then Colette went through all that and…"

He sighed, rubbing his face.

"I just…keep trying to do things right, you know? I keep trying to do what'll keep everyone safe, so no one else gets hurt because of something I do or…"

"Lloyd," Raine said. "I told you, this wasn't your fault-"

"But him getting hurt with Sylph was my fault," he countered. "If I had been paying more attention he wouldn't have done that. Even if it wasn't my fault, I still should have noticed! I should notice when my friends are suffering or having a hard time, if I can't, how can I possibly protect them?"

"Lloyd-"

"I just keep making mistakes...I keep trying to do things right so no one gets hurt, so I can protect people, but how can I when I can't even realize that they're suffering right in front of me?"

The teen groaned, rubbing his face and letting out another low sigh. Raine fell silent, but he really didn't need her to answer. He knew she was right, he knew it wasn't his fault and she'd tell him that getting upset and worrying wasn't going to help anything. She was right, he knew that.

"Sorry, Professor," he said when he looked up. "I guess I've just been thinking about it a long time and I hadn't told anyone so-…heh, I'm a hypocrite again."

"No, you're stressed," Raine replied. "And it's completely understandable. Look, just go try to relax, if it'll make you feel better I'll stay close by Richard in case he wakes up."

"Thanks, Professor." Lloyd smiled a bit. "You're right, I just need to clear my head a bit…"

Raine nodded and Lloyd walked off, glancing back once before forcing his gaze away. While he still felt guilty he did know that wouldn't change anything. Besides, the Professor said he was just tired, so it's not like he was going to die or anything. That and…

An unpleasant chill crept up his spine and he quickly looked around, trying to find something he could do around camp. The Professor was right, he was stressed, that's why he was worrying about so many things lately, that's why he kept-…

Richard…his father…his 'Dad'- that is, his other dad. He remembered what he'd told Colette once, about how she should just consider herself lucky for having more than most people and really…he did consider himself lucky, it was weird, but he'd get used to it.

At least, he would have by now, if it wasn't for… Why? Why did he keep doing stuff like that? What he'd told him last night, that- that was too much like that bastard angel, it was- it was wrong. How could his father and that traitor mercenary be that much alike? It all seemed like some kind of big joke. It was stupid, after all Kratos was never anything remotely like a dad-

"_Your parents care only that you are well."_

He flinched, shaking his head and the memory away. Well okay once in a while he said something KINDA like that but…

"_Don't die, Lloyd."_

What the hell kind of thing was that to say to someone anyway? Especially someone you were going to try to kill- …it didn't make sense. Nothing Kratos did made any sense to begin with, though. Still, he was probably just imagining-…but they- …their eyes were kinda the same- well, that was just the eyes.

Though their voices were kinda…

Lloyd shook his head with a growl, heading a ways from the camp and drawing his swords. If he trained a bit he'd get his mind off this, he was just antsy, so if he trained for a while he'd relax. That's what he told himself anyway.

The teen took his stance, giving over the 'steps' in his head to prepare his stance before deciding what he should work on. Well there wasn't that much he could do without a sparring partner in terms of defense, maybe he'd just work on his footwork. That's what Richard had mentioned last time. 'You always have to make sure you're balanced-'

"_You're off balance. If you're off balance you're nothing except something to knock over. You must always be balanced."_

He stubbornly forced the memory out of his head, trying to recall what Richard had told him the other day. Lloyd went through a few of the motions, taking care with how he stepped, making sure he never ended up with his back to the imaginary 'enemy'.

'Never turn your back' he had said 'Isn't that the first thing I taught- the first thing you learned?'

Taught. He had said taught- just a slip-

"_The first and most vital thing I'll teach you, if you don't' remember anything else, remember this. Never turn your back."_

Well that was a basic, that was one of the 'fundamentals'. Of course they'd both tell him the same thing then but- 'taught', that word, that ….why had he said-? It was just a mix-up of words. Had to be. What else could it be?

"_Always keep a clear head."_

That one- wait which one had said that? He shook a bit, trying to recall the voice- but their voices…their voices were the same. No. No they couldn't be, that didn't make any sense! How could their voices possibly- they just kinda sounded a like, since they were both deep like that. That was all-

"_Be ever judicious, Lloyd."_

What did that even mean! Judicious- he couldn't' even use words he knew! S- Sure he'd asked Raine after but-…it still didn't make sense! Ever judicious…

Of what exactly- what was he supposed to think-?

"Lloyd."

His blood ran cold, feeling his throat tighten at the sound of his name, at the sound of that voice. That voice-

"_Lloyd…don't die-"_

He span around on reflex, the point of his sword going to the jugular of the man as his heart began to pound in his ears. That man, that Seraph, that traitor-!

"…" Kratos frowned, looking at the sword and then up to meet Lloyd's gaze.

It wasn't him.

Lloyd quickly pulled the sword back, breathing hard, trying to hide the tremble that had worked into his body.

"I- Dad, I'm sorry, I-" he took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, I thought I heard- I thought you were someone else."

He took another deep breath, rubbing his face. What the hell was wrong with him? He'd been so wrapped up in those thoughts that he'd pulled the blade on his own father. That's it; he had to stop thinking about this, he'd gotten so riled up he had…

"It's fine," Kratos said, frowning a bit. "Are you all right?"

"I- Yeah," he said quickly, nodding. "Sorry, I was just….thinking. Are you okay? I'm sorry, you just startled me, kinda… Are you feeling better?"

Lloyd sheathed his swords as the elder man gave a short nod.

"Yes." Kratos frowned, glancing away. "I-…I had been careless. I apologize for having slowed you all down."

"No no, it's all right." Lloyd smiled gently, walking forward. "We should've given you some time to rest. I guess we were just in a hurry and stuff…"

His words trailed off and they were left standing before each other in silence. Kratos merely stared off to the side and Lloyd shifted anxiously.

"Uh- well, the next pact is for Luna and Aska," Lloyd said, eager to break the tension. "So we're going to go back to Sylvarant. The Professor wants to find this guy named Nova we met before, he knows a lot about Aska."

"I see," Kratos said. "That will be the final pact then…"

"Yeah." Lloyd nodded, smiling a bit more. "Isn't it great? Soon both worlds won't have to sacrifice one another anymore, and there won't be any more Chosen like Colette that have to suffer for it."

Kratos scanned the teen and once again Lloyd fidgeted, unsure why he kept getting so tense.

"What?"

"I have a question for you," Kratos replied. "Say that we make the pact, and all the links are broken...what if it doesn't work? What if something goes wrong? What will you do?"

Lloyd frowned. Why was he asking this all of a sudden? Then again, he had been pretty skeptical about it before they had left Sylvarant…

"You mean like, what if it doesn't work?"

Kratos nodded.

"What will you do, Lloyd, if what you wish for doesn't happen? What will you do if you hit a dead-end, or worse, if something goes wrong?"

"I…." Lloyd frowned, unconsciously rubbing the exsphere on his hand. "What will I do? I guess…"

The teen pondered just a moment, then nodded once, confirming his thoughts to himself.

"I'll find another way, if it doesn't work I'll find a way that does work, and if I can't find that way I'll make it." He smiled, a determined spark in his eyes. "I won't give up, I can't. I mean, all that I can do- all that anyone can do I guess- is to just keep going, as long as you're alive you have to keep going, you can't just sit there and die- well…I guess you could, but why? What'd be the point in that, y'know? So…if it doesn't work, I'll find another way, simple as that."

"And what if something goes wrong? What if someone gets hurt, or you do more harm than good?"

Lloyd hesitated, going silent again. It was like the village, he thought…like Iselia. He had been trying to help, trying to do some good and instead he had just… Well, he wasn't going to let that happen again. He wasn't going to let anyone get-...

"I'm not going to let it happen," Lloyd spoke up. "But…you're not asking me that, are you? You're asking if it does happen… I…"

"Yes, even if you try the best you can, sometimes things simply go wrong, Lloyd." Kratos stated, frowning a bit. "Even if you do all you can, things can go wrong, things can fall apart. It's good to want to prevent them to begin with, but-"

"But it's just as important as to know what you do when they happen?" Lloyd asked, looking to the man for his answer.

Kratos blinked, scanning his son. The frown on his face deepened, his brow furrowing. Lloyd noted that but dismissed it quickly, continuing with his own thoughts.

"Well…if you're always afraid of messing up, you're never going to try, even when it turns out it's something that'll do a lot of good, y'know?" Lloyd mused, patting the side of his leg as he shifted his weight. "So…it's stupid not to try just because you're afraid you're going to mess up. Still…if I do mess up, then I guess…I do the best I can to fix it, and that I take responsibility for it."

"Heh," Kratos smirked after a moment. "Your mother would be proud of you."

Lloyd blinked and then laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"You think? I mean…really?"

"Yes," Kratos said, a weak smile forming on his face. "She was always…a bit of an idealist. I suppose you get it from her...she'd be very happy to see the kind of person you grew up to be."

She would have, he knew. Lloyd smiled at him and then they both headed back to camp, Lloyd jabbering away about something or another, as if the biggest thing on his mind now was whatever Genis had cooked for dinner. Kratos merely agreed here and there, letting him ramble on. While he really didn't care much for what he was saying, he was glad to be the one Lloyd was rambling to. What he had said….what he had said reminded him much of that night after the Fire Seal, now that he thought about it. Even then Lloyd had claimed responsibility for what had happened, and while he knew he son still carried that guilt, from this point it looked as if the boy had only grown from it.

Good…he was a strong-hearted young man, he was far stronger than he was, for certain… Accepting responsibility, hm…

It was good, he decided, that Lloyd thought like that. That way even if he failed, he wouldn't completely lose himself. Kratos was confident of that fact, now, and…perhaps a little more assured that when the time came, if it did come, to entrust the sword to him, that… That he wouldn't be crushed by the death of his-…'father'.

The phrasing in his own head seemed…unpleasant. Truly, both ways he was his father, so really there should be no reason that the idea made him uncomfortable. Still….

No, there were more important matters at hand. The final pact…he did recall the zoologist, Nova, and all that his family had told the group about Aska. It only seemed natural that they would head to see him then, he might have found out more about the secondary spirit of light. Though…while they had not managed to find anything against it, the idea of severing the links did not sit well with him. What was it he was overlooking? It couldn't be this easy, could it? While he did hope things went as Lloyd wished, he couldn't bring himself to believe they would. Perhaps he should try to stop them once more? But what could he do? They were already convinced, they would dismiss his doubts. That only left the option of trying to stop them by force…which was impossible. In his normal state, it would have been relatively easy, but as he was…

There wasn't anything he could do, but perhaps…perhaps Lloyd was right. That it was pointless not to attempt anything because of fear of failure-…feh…

If only the world really worked like that…

**And the chapter is updated :D …been a while since I updated the same fic twice in a row, huh? Weird…oh well, hope you like it **


	11. Chapter 11

**Yaaaay an update Managed to get it updated on this date too, whoo! Happy Birthday to that friend of mine, she knows who she is ;) lol**

**Disclaimer: Own nothing do I. Talk like Yoda I do.**

It was all their fault.

Why? Dammit, why hadn't they realized this would happened? Why hadn't they tried harder to find something that would've warned them? Would anything have?

The only thing that had been any prior warning was the old swordsman's bad feeling, but that hadn't been enough, not nearly enough to make them stop in time.

"We accept your vow, our power is thine."

Lloyd had felt ecstatic, watching as Sheena sealed the pact with the final spirits. It had been a time-consuming task, going about getting the Linkite tree back to health so they could find Aska, but it had all been worth it. Here they were, about to free the worlds from Cruxis- then Yuan showed up.

"Wait! Don't make the-"

It was far too late by then. In a matter of minutes all hell broke loose, the tree germinated into some monster plant, roots jerking up out of the earth, destroying cities in its wake. They had managed to get off the Tower of Mana right before it was ensnared and crushed by the roots, getting to a safe place in time to see the hideous nightmare on the horizon.

"W- What is that?" Lloyd choked, his eyes wide as he stared at it.

"Is that- the Giant Kharlan tree?" Genis said, unable to keep the tremor from his voice.

"Dammit!" Yuan snapped. "I should've gotten here faster!"

"I was afraid something like this would happen," the old swordsman in the group said, his hand clenching on his sword.

"Dad- what do you mean?" Lloyd turned to him.

"What? 'Dad'?" Yuan quickly located Lloyd, then his eyes fell upon the one Lloyd had spoken to.

It was then that Kratos realized that, this situation aside, he was in very big trouble. Yuan locked eyes with him, the half-elf's green eyes going wide in shock and Kratos quickly looked away.

"W- what the…hell? IS that- you? How did-?"

"We don't have time for this." Kratos snapped at him. "Do you know the details of what happened or don't you?" 

"Wait, Dad, you know him?" Lloyd shook his head, eying his father and then the Renegade.

"I-…I've had some dealings with him before." The man said flatly. "I'll explain later, right now we have more pressing issues."

Lloyd frowned but eyed the tree. He nodded; yes, the explanations could wait. How the hell his father could know Yuan, he didn't know, but they had to stop the tree.

"So what happened? Why is it going nuts like this?" Lloyd asked.

"I'm not entirely sure," Yuan shook his head. "I had just been on my way to check your progress when I got the message from one of my subordinates. They said if the links were broken the tree would most likely sprout out of control, I didn't know exactly what they meant but-"

"That's all you know?" the old swordsman interjected.

"I- …well at the moment yes-"

Lloyd eyed his father as the man groaned, frowning deeply as he eyed the tree.

"…Well, Mr. Scott? Do you have any idea what's going on?" Raine asked, her eyes narrowed as she scanned the man.

Kratos said nothing a moment and then nodded.

"The mana links most likely acted as a cage to contain the seed, I'm assuming it was vastly unstable and when the cage was 'broken' , the sudden exposure to mana caused it to germinate in a twisted form. It was most likely drawn over here by Sylvarant's summon spirits because Colette activated the seals here."

"You have a surprising breadth of knowledge," Raine said flatly.

Lloyd flinched. Wait, that sounded familiar. She'd said that to someone else before, hadn't she? And that look she was giving him- His heart sank in his chest. He didn't like where this was going, he didn't at all- no! No stay focused. There were bigger problems.

"I- I don't' care why it's doing this, how do we stop it? It's going to wipe out everything!"

"Is it going all crazy like that in Tethe'Alla too?" Sheena fidgeted, obviously not liking the idea.

"Unlikely, though they are probably experiencing some effects, such as earthquakes."

"I- wait, what did you say about it coming here? Because of the seals?"

"…The summon spirits in the two worlds play alternating roles depending on whether the world is flourishing or waning." His father stated. "The process of breaking the seals is the process of waking the spirits, the awakened spirits provide mana to the world that is flourishing while in the other world the spirits sleep, and their mana is also transferred to the flourishing world. The spirits from Sylvarant were playing the role of providing mana, thus the tree was drawn to this side."

Lloyd stared, as did the rest of his friends. Once again he felt the sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach, staring at his father. How did he know that? There was no way he could know that, when they didn't- even Yuan didn't! How could he…?

"Dad…?" Lloyd hesitated, trying not to let the paleness creep into his face.

"I'll explain later, Lloyd," he said, frowning. "I promise. Right now we have to stop the tree. …You said if things went wrong, then you would do everything you could to fix it, didn't you?"

Lloyd flinched and frowned, his eyes going to the behemoth of a tree. Yeah…he had said that, hadn'the? Damn it..he had messed up again after all. He shook his head, eyes narrowing. Yes, he said he'd fix it, and he would.

"Okay- it was drawn over here by Sylvarant's spirits, right? If that's the case couldn't we neutralize it with the mana from the Tethe'allan summon spirits?" he said, looking between 'Richard' and Yuan.

"Wh- Lloyd how did you think that up?" Genis stared.

"Well the professor once said that the positive and negative of a magnet neutralize each other-…wait- no it wasn't quite like that but it was similar. I just mean, if it- counteracts it, that'd reseal the tree, right?"

"That's…actually a very clever idea, coming from you, Lloyd." Raine nodded, eying her student.

"Given what little time there is we have no better option right now." Kratos stated.

"Well- okay if we do do that, how are we going to- y'know, do it? We can't get close to that crazy thing as it is right now!" Sheena pointed out.

"The mana cannon," Yuan said suddenly.

"That machine Rodyle was building?" Regal asked.

"We manipulated him into building that, actually, the point is that we can channel Tethe'alla's spirits into the mana cannon and then fire it at the tree," Yuan said. "I'll have my men cut off the supply of mana to it, it'll be too late if it gets any bigger-"

Just then a Renegade ran forward, quickly informing Yuan that the team they had located in the Iselia Ranch had been executed. Yuan quickly explained the need to infiltrate the ranch, but it became apparent that Yuan did not have enough troops to do everything.

"I'll go then," Lloyd said immediately.

"Wh-? But we have to get to the mana cannon!" Sheena frowned.

"You and the Renegades can handle that, Sheena, the rest of us can go to the ranch and when the reactor is shut off, we'll give you the signal. Besides…" Lloyd frowned. "…This is my fault, it's my responsibility, so I'm going. The rest of you can go with Sheena if you want but-"

"You can't go alone," Kratos said quickly. "I'll go with you-"

"Hah, I'd be even less assured if just you went with him," Yuan hissed, eyes narrowed on the swordsman. "How do we even know we can trust you with this?"

Lloyd flinched, going to speak before his father cut him off.

"Because we don't have a choice right now," he snapped back at Yuan. "I'm not letting him go alone."

"He's not going to, the rest of us are going with him too!" Genis spoke up. "Right, guys?"

"Of course!" Colette nodded.

"We'll accompany Lloyd as well, he'll need the help," Raine concluded. "And we'll keep an eye on Mr. Scott, as it seems we have reason to, yes, Yuan?"

"Scott?" Yuan scoffed, hand on his hip. "Really? He took that name? Not very original…"

Lloyd twitched again, gritting his teeth.

"What? What do you mean? What's going on?" Lloyd looked at his father. "Dad-"

Just then another huge tremor shook the ground, half the group nearly toppling over. Lloyd whipped around, gritting his teeth as he looked to the tree.

"All right, let's go, guys! We need to hurry!"

So they were off, no words were exchanged, the dire circumstances were pressing down on them all, the tree in the distance all too clear. They had to hurry and stop this, that was the only concern. Well….not the only concern. Eyes were clearly drifting to the old swordsman in the group, but it was clear to everyone that, as said, now was not the time to pry answers from him. Lloyd in particular…wasn't sure he wanted to know. Still, they managed to arrive at the ranch quickly, then realized they still had to problem of how to enter.

"Well…I can jump down from the cliff again and open the gate-"

"It'd be quicker if Colette uses her wings to fly over," his father interrupted. "Colette, if you would?"

"I- y- yes, okay, I'll be right back." The girl nodded, spreading her wings and quickly going over the top of the gate.

Lloyd frowned, glancing over at the graying man. What did Yuan mean? About an 'original' name, as if that wasn't his real- was it? He felt the color fade from his skin, eyeing the swordsman. Was he really lying about something about that? Why? How did Yuan know him? How did he know all that about the seals and the summon spirits? As far as he knew all that the man knew about that sort of thing was what they told him, and if they didn't know that then how could he have? Then there was what Yuan had said…'how do we know we can trust you'….

"Lloyd, are you all right? We're going in now," Raine said.

"Huh-? Yeah, let's go."

This wasn't the time, he kept telling himself that. This wasn't the time, right now they had to take care of this. All right they would need to take the captives somewhere safe, but they had to shut down the reactor. There wasn't enough time to get the captives out first but- no, wait, they'd just split up like they had at Kvar's ranch. Yeah, that'd work, he'd take the Professor to deactivate the reactor and – well whoever wanted to come then.

"I've located the reactor," Raine reported as soon as she had hacked the mainframe. "So what's the plan, Lloyd?"

"Okay, well let's split up, one group will go after the reactor and the other will save the captives. Professor, could you come with me to the reactor? We'll need someone to shut it down."

"Of course," Raine nodded. "Who else should go with us? I imagine security will be tight around the reactor."

Lloyd hesitated, scanning the group. They'd need some manpower, but someone that could heal a bit would be good too…

"Presea and Dad," he said. "Everyone else will go free the captives. Is that all right with everyone?"

The old swordsman and Presea nodded, the others confirming their agreement as well.

"There's no need to split up until we find the captives, the cells and the reactor should be in the same direction," Raine said after scanning the map. "Let's hurry."

"Hopefully we can save Chocolat now." Colette smiled.

Lloyd flinched. Chocolat- he totally forgot about her. How could he possibly have forgotten about her? They had promised that they would go and save her, they heard she was at this ranch- what was wrong with him? Why was he forgetting stuff like that? Well-…yes he had had other stuff on his mind at the moment but that still wasn't any real excuse, was it?

"Y- Yeah, hopefully she's all right."

They headed through the ranch and it wasn't long before they came across the cell block where it appeared that most of the prisoners were gone. One man and a girl remained, the girl noticing them about the same tie they noticed her.

"Chosen One! Everyone!" Chocolat exclaimed, her eyes going wide.

The Desian guards that had been bearing down on them turned to the door, scowling.

"So you are here! The host bodies made a break for it as soon as they heard you had snuck in! You filthy rats, you'll pay for this!" one snarled, pulling out his weapon.

Lloyd didn't waste any time; he pulled out his own blades and rushed in, felling the lead Desian before he had a chance to react. The other tried to come at him from the side but he quickly swerved around, stepping back behind the Desian when he struck and finishing him with a quick blow to the back.

"W- wow!" Chocolat exclaimed.

Judging by the look on his friends' faces in the open doorway, 'wow' about summed it up. Lloyd cleared his throat and quickly turned to the Chocolat and the other captive.

"Are you all right?"

"Yes, I think the other captives managed to escape already," replied the old man.

"We'll make sure they get out safely," Regal said, walking forward. "If you'll come with us we'll find them."

"Thank you," the man said.

"Uh- uhm…" Chocolat fidgeted, eying Lloyd and then the rest of the group. "Hey-"

"If you don't' want to be rescued by me, just considered yourself rescued by the Chosen," Lloyd said with a weak half-smile.

"I- …I heard about how you were kind to Grandma, you and Genis…thank you."

"You're welcome," Lloyd answered with a weak smile. "Now get going."

They had barely split up when Raine addressed him.

"That as pretty impressive, Lloyd, I suppose the added training has been paying off," she said, though her eyes were not on him.

"Uh- You think so? Thanks, Professor."

There was a moment of silence, Lloyd slowly following his teacher's gaze to the enigmatic man that accompanied them. Presea's eyes were on him as well, though she continued to keep her expression blank.

"…Yes, you've definitely improved on your footwork," he said, looking at Lloyd. "Good job."

Lloyd smiled but it quickly faltered. A strange mix of pride, apprehension and skepticism filled him as he looked at the man. Also something like…yes, there it was again, that unsettling familiarity. Hadn't- hadn't _he _looked at him like that? That weird, detached way of saying he had improved? He quickly looked away, trying not to think about it. Still it was hard not to, to think of everything that had happened, all the little traits, all the little- No. Focus. Stop the tree first, then he said- he said he'd explain, right? So he would, he promised.

Still, why didn't he say anything to him? Granted they didn't have much time to talk seeing as they were hurrying through the halls, and the alarm had already been sounded that they were there, as such they were getting swarmed by wave after wave of Desian squads. Even so, between them his father still hadn't said a word to him. Wouldn't he have said something? Or even just a look, some kind of reassuring sign? He kept waiting for it but it wouldn't come, why? Even if there was no time to explain now, something would- just a smile or something, if he had nothing to hide then why wouldn't he look at him? Then again- …he did have something he was hiding, that was the whole point, wasn't it? But…what?

"The reactor should be through this door," Raine said as they reached the end of a hall, quickly hacking into the system to open it.

"All right, is everyone ready?" Lloyd asked, scanning the three with him.

Usually before a fight he had said something to him, 'be careful' or told him to remember something that he had taught him for combat. All he did was nod, he didn't even look at him. What was with him? That- that was more like something that Kratos'd-

He quickly clamped down on the thought.

"Okay, let's go in and be ready for anything," he said, facing the door as Raine opened it.

They had barely gotten into the room when the door slammed shut behind them and the Grand Cardinal Forcystus walked out into their path.

"You're not getting any further than that," the half-elf said, his one eye narrowed on them.

"Unbelievable," Raine scowled, crossing her arms. "You do realize that if the tree isn't stopped, you'll die along with all of your men, don't you?"

"Lord Yggdrasill has ordered us not to harm the tree, and Lord Yggdrasill's orders are absolute."

"Are you saying that fool would go this far just to protect her?" a voice snapped.

Lloyd's blood ran cold and he quickly swept his gaze to the speaker, trying to ignore the way his heart began to pound when he saw the look on his father's face. His wine eyes were narrowed dangerously, his fingers curled tight on the hilt of his sword.

"How dare you, you filthy human!" Forcystus scowled. "How dare you speak ill of our glorious leader! It matters not if this world dies, we, the half-elves, have Derris-Kharlan-"

"So if this world dies you can just run to Derris-Kharlan?" the old swordsman scoffed. "You're nothing but expendable pawns to Yggdrasill, he won't bother to save you, you'll serve your purpose and then he will simply leave you to perish. Don't be a fool. Stand down."

"You speak as if you know him, who are you?"

Those few words hit Lloyd like a smack across the face, his eyes darting to his father. Like he knew him? But he hadn't even ever seen Yggdrasill- and why wouldn't he look at him, he just keep his eyes ahead- Lloyd's fingers curled at his sides.

"If you are not going to move we'll be forced to remove you," he said flatly, ignoring them.

"Dad-"

"There's no time, Lloyd," Raine said quickly, pulling out her staff. "We need to stop the reactor, now."

"You won't get past me!" Forcystus scowled, taking a stance.

Lloyd gritted his teeth, drawing his swords. Fine then, he'd put his frustration to use.

And bottle up his fear for later.

**Yaaaaay it updateeeed . Sorry it didn't get to the juicy bits just yet, but trust me, next chapter…hehehee**

**Review?**


	12. Chapter 12

**And the chapter you've all been waiting for ;)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

"Lloyd!"

Lloyd choked, gasping as he struggled to get to his feet, ignoring the searing burn of the cannon-fire on his back. He heard Forcystus behind him, crowing that he was a Grand Cardinal, that he wouldn't die so easily.

"So this is how the great Desian hero meets his end?" the old swordsman's voice hissed. "I'm disappointed."

"You-…I see…I wondered, but it makes sense-"

Lloyd lifted his head in time to see his father's blade swing toward Forcystus, only to get deflected by his cannon arm.

"Lord Yggdrasill trusted you, yet in the end you betray us! This is why humans can never be trusted!"

He heard another shot right before he felt someone pressing against him, using their body to shield his own. Lloyd choked and lifted his head, catching sight of Colette's face, scrunched with pain, the smell of her burnt clothing searing his nose.

"Colette-!"

He managed to roll out from under her, supporting her in his arms just as his father's sword impaled the Desian, who choked, falling back to the ground with a thud.

"Colette! Colette are you-? …W- what is…?"

She shivered, her eyes shut tight as he slowly turned hr so he could see where the cannon had hit her back. Lloyd's eyes widened dangerously, staring at the strange, blue scaly like surface that was spreading on her skin.

"D- Don't- don't look at me!" Colette cried, trying to push away from him.

"Lloyd," his father snapped. "You need to send the signal to Sheena, now."

"But- Colette is-"

"She won't die yet but if you don't send the signal this world will!" he snapped.

Lloyd's eyes went up to meet his, brown meeting russet, and for a moment Lloyd didn't think, just took in those eyes. Those…same…eyes…

"..Now do it," the man said, softer, but even more firm.

"I-…all right."

He set Colette down as gently but as quickly as he could, quickly scrambling for the device that Yuan had given him. As soon as that had happened however he quickly knelt by Colette again, supporting her into a sitting position.

"Are you all right, Colette?" he said, scanning her desperately. "You're going to be okay, all right-?"

An enormous sound akin to an explosion nearly knocked several people off their feet and Lloyd clung Colette closer to him, protectively as a bright blue light flashed on the horizon. Not seconds later something like a scream went through the air and- quite suddenly- the tree had disappeared from the horizon. Lloyd stared a moment and then back at Colette.

"Colette-"

The blonde flinched, struggling to get away from him again.

"D- Don't look! It's- it's disgusting- it's- stay away-!"

She struggled a bit then fell back, her eyes falling shut.

"C- Colette-!" Lloyd jerked.

"Relax; it seems she's just fainted…" Raine said, having drifted over. "We should get her and the captives somewhere where they can rest. …We should head to Iselia."

"I- Iselia? But Lloyd and I were banished," Genis said, fidgeting.

"Colette's home is in Iselia, and we can't just leave the captives here." Raine pointed out. "We need to take them somewhere safe."

"Yeah…let's...go to Iselia," Lloyd said, frowning as he scanned Colette.

The teen carefully picked Colette up, scanning the group, then his eyes falling on his father. They exchanged a long, silent look before Lloyd frowned, looking back at Colette.

"Once she's…resting, I- …you promised," he said quietly. "You promised that you'd explain everything. …Yuan knows you, Forcystus did too, he just said it, he just said that-"

His teeth grit to keep himself from shaking, forcing himself to take a deep breath.

"He said that Yggdrasill 'trusted' you."

* * *

He stood on the front porch, tapping his foot in some subconscious attempt to alleviate his tension. Any minute he'd come out here, he had said such, so they could go talk in private while the others stayed with Colette. The talk with Phaidra had been….unnerving, the way his father had spoken; there was no doubting it now. He knew too much about Cruxis to not have been…involved at some point, if not with Cruxis then with the Renegades. B- but- still, there could be another explanation, right? Sure he knew Yuan but…well if everyone was after his mother because she was an experiment, it made sense if his parents ran into the Renegades, right? But-…but…no, no he had to have been involved in Cruxis, Forcystus had confirmed that much.

With a quiet creak the door opened and Lloyd whipped his head around, feeling his throat tighten as his father stepped out. The man looked at him and then away, quiet. The sun was getting low, casting long shadows on the builds and trees, half-obscuring his father's face, from the side all that was visible was his eye and the silhouette of his profile-

Lloyd choked. Wait- no. No. He said he'd explain, so he'd explain, he would explain….

"Did you want to speak somewhere more private?" he said quietly, still not looking at him.

Lloyd's fingers curled at his sides but he nodded.

"Yes," he said. "…Come on, let's go."

The teen turned and walked off, knowing he was following. He made a beeline for the nearest exit, knowing that if he was spotted by someone in the village they'd most likely try to stop him, seeing as he was exiled. That wasn't something he wanted to deal with right now, he had …bigger things on his mind. So he went out of the north gate leading to the Martel temple, stepping out just far enough to be out of the village but close enough they could go back inside quickly should any monsters show up. Lloyd finally stopped, looking out from the cliff-face to see the sun settling down on the water.

"…You said you'd explain," he said quietly, swallowing as he slowly turned to meet the man's eyes. "So…explain."

His father finally looked at him, a sobering, misted look in his eyes, as if he was on the verge of- well, perhaps not tears, but…there was something to harrowing in that look. Regret, fear, self-loathing, tension, it was a lot like that look Kratos had given him at the tower-

Lloyd clenched his fists.

"W- Well?" he snapped, trying not to shake. "Say something! Yuan knows you! Forcystus said Yggdrasill knew you- trusted you! You just said all that about Cruxis and the tower and the tree and- you know all of this! You know all of this, how could you know? Tell me! What's going on? What are you hiding from me?"

"…I…" the man said softly, his eyes drifting down to the ground. "I-"

"What did Yuan mean about 'taking the name' Scott? Huh! Is it your name or isn't it? Why would you have a fake name? What's going-"

"Scott….was your mother's last name," he said quietly.

Lloyd flinched, frowning a bit.

"S- So you took her last name? …I don't get it, what's bad about that? Why would Yuan-?"

"You're not going to get any answers from him, Lloyd, why don't I explain for you?"

Lloyd flinched, whipping his head around to the trees just in time to get struck by a lightning spell.

"Lloyd-!"

His body jerked and stiffened, paralyzing him momentarily, just enough time for some Renegades to jump from the trees, grabbing his arms and putting a blade at his throat. Before either of them could react they were surrounded, Yuan walking out casually into their midst, his green eyes narrowed.

"Yuan!" his father snapped. "Let him go, he has nothing to do with-"

"Oh please, Kratos, we both know that's a complete lie," the half elf smirked, though his eyes narrowed coldly.

Lloyd choked.

"K- Kratos-? What are you- What are you talking about? He-"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," the man stated stiffly, eyes locked with Yuan, his fingers curled tightly around the hilt of his sword.

"Don't insult me, Kratos," Yuan huffed, crossing his arms. "If you had any of chance of keeping your identity a secret, you blew it as soon as you acknowledged knowing me earlier."

Kratos' teeth grit, glaring death the man as the half-elf simply strolled forward, eyebrow raised in amusement and curiosity.

"Though I do wonder how you managed to do this…the hair and attire can easily be altered after all, but your mana signature is definitely human, it's the same as before we became angels. That and- well obviously your skills have dulled as if you were an old human, normally you would've at least heard us coming."

Lloyd stared, his eyes wide, gaping at the man he had been calling his father. He still wouldn't look at him, his body clearly tensed, teeth gritted in anger.

"But he can't be…" he whispered, stunned.

"So how did you do it, Kratos? I wasn't aware of anything we had access to that could do something like this-"

"You're lying!" Lloyd shouted before he could even think it through. "He's not Kratos! He can't be- look at him! That-"

"Exactly. Look at him," Yuan said flatly, turning. "His facial structure hasn't changed that much, it's merely the facial hair and the lines that hide it. Honestly, his eyes and his voice haven't altered at all, how could you have not noticed that?"

Lloyd choked.

The eyes. How many times had he noticed the eyes? The voice- yes, he had noticed the voice to, he had mistaken that voice for Kratos'-

His heart sank in his chest.

It…was, Kratos' voice.

"No, no that's impossible," he said, shaking his head. "I- even if it was true, why? Why would Kratos go around trying to- why would Kratos go around pretending to be my Dad-?"

"Because he is your father," the Renegade answered flatly, meeting Lloyd's eyes. "Why else?"

If anything, that was even worse to hear.

"What are you talking about?" Lloyd tried to demand, but his voice came out a soft whisper.

"Now then, Kratos, you've left me a dilemma." Yuan turned back to Kratos, ignoring Lloyd. "I was going to …coerce, you into releasing Origin's seal, but given the state you're in now, I'm not sure if you can…"

"Take me then, let him go."

"Now is a little late to be trying to fill your failed role, Kratos," Yuan huffed. "Though it's obvious you don't realize that or you wouldn't have gone around in this pathetic charade anyway. You couldn't be his father as you were, so you had to take on a fake identity? Just think of what your dear Anna would think of that, no doubt she'd be disappointed. Pity, she had to end up with you, such an unfortunate woman."

He was right. He was a failure. Anna would be ashamed of him, of everything he'd done since he lost her, since he abandoned their son. His eyes flicked to Lloyd, who stared at him in horror, with wide brown eyes, so much like hers, portraying his shock and pain. NO matter what he did he always just caused his family pain, Yuan was right, he always hurt them, he never deserved them. Even here, with all he had done to try to get close to his son, all he had done was hurt him and now he couldn't even protect him. How could he? He would have a hard time in this situation in his true body, in this aching, slow form, how could he have a hope of saving his son?

"Don't mock my mom!" Lloyd shouted suddenly.

To his shock Lloyd managed to slip away from the grips of the guards holding him, unsheathing both swords and felling them behind him before charging right for Yuan. Kratos choked, eyes widening as Yuan swerved, electric mana charged in his hand, ready to sear right into Lloyd's chest. For a moment everything seemed to slow, the look on his son's face as he realized he was running right into danger, the electricity about to be released from Yuan's palm, all of it seemed slow suddenly, as if mocking him, mocking his inability to stop what was about to happen.

But..he had to, he had to stop it, he had to protect his son. He had to be strong enough to protect his son, it didn't matter now, if Lloyd hated him forever, what mattered was protecting him.

He had to protect him

Before he knew what was happening he had rushed forward, grabbing Yuan's wrist with his left hand and twisting it, yanking his arm upright so the electricity flew out of the half-elves hand into the sky. Yuan let out a shout of surprise as Kratos yanked him to the side, facing him, then proceeded to punch him squarely in the face. An audible crunch sounded as Yuan slipped out of his grip, jumping back, his hand quickly going to his face to exude healing mana to it.

"You-! The boy! Secure the boy!" he snapped at his men.

Kratos quickly turned toward his son, sword drawn in a flash, rushing by his son and slamming his sword into the chest of the Renegade that had been about to grab him. The half-elf let out a grunt of pain before Kratos tore the blade out.

"Wh-?" he heard Lloyd gasp, could almost see his expression of shock.

The Seraph turned and quickly grabbed Lloyd with his free arm, pulling him to his chest and turning just in time to block the oncoming blade of yet another Renegade, knocking him back before quickly casting an Air Thrust spell, successfully felling the Renegade and a couple others that had rushed to help their companion. Kratos swerved, keeping Lloyd half behind him as he swiped at another pair of oncoming troops before turning and stepping forward, between Lloyd and Yuan, sword drawn and at the ready.

It was about then he realized the purple gloves on his hands, the Cruxis crystal on the back of his left, and the Flamberge pulsating in his grip, radiating red and orange, as if matching the setting sun to their sides.

As luck would have it, it was about then when the rest of Lloyd's friends showed up.

"K- Kratos?" Genis gasped loudly.

"Yuan, what is the meaning of this?" Raine snapped, scanning the bodies and the trembling Lloyd.

"Hmph, I figured…" Zelos muttered, though no one seemed to catch it.

Yuan flinched and whipped his head around, cursing as he drew back with his remaining men.

"Fall back," he barked at his soldiers, quickly fleeing the scene.

"Hey, wait! What do you think you're-?" Sheena stared, but quickly cut off when she caught sight of Lloyd's face

Kratos noticed their attention had shifted from him to behind him, where he knew Lloyd was standing. His throat tightened and he slowly turned around, lowering his sword down to the tall grass. The expression on Lloyd's face felt like he'd been pierced in the heart. He had expected horror, disgust, anger, betrayal, and those things were present, very much so, but one thing he had somehow not anticipated to see was despair. It wasn't the same, as at the tower, when he had denial and betrayal quickly followed by anger. The look he was giving him was the look of one that wished dearly that they weren't seeing what they were, that what was happening wasn't real, that somehow it could all just be a nightmare.

"You…you…" the teen said, his voice barely a whisper, gritting his teeth as tears began to well up his eyes.

Oh gods, why couldn't he do anything right for his son?

"Lloyd," he spoke, his voice soft. "I..."

What could he say? What could he possibly say that could make this situation any better? There was nothing. Yuan was right; this entire charade had been pathetic. There was no way it could have worked, there was no way he could ever be his son's father again, in any way.

Not knowing what else to do, the Seraph stepped forward and immediately Lloyd stepped back. Kratos stopped, flinching a bit, then frowned, slowly looking away, staring into the grass that was tinted red with the setting sun and the droplets of shed blood.

"Why?"

The word came soft, but he heard it all too well. How could he answer that? What could he tell him? Nothing would justify it.

"Why?" Lloyd shouted. "Why did you- what was the point of that? Why did you do that? How- how could you! What did you have to gain from-….."

He cut off, silence fell, and Kratos merely stood there, waiting, waiting for the hateful words he deserved.

"Are you or aren't you? Who are you! Dammit who are you, really?" Lloyd shouted.

Kratos said nothing, numb, staring into the grass. He didn't even notice when Lloyd rushed forward and grabbed his shoulders roughly, causing the man to look up, meeting his sons eyes.

"Answer me you bastard!" Lloyd shouted, angry tears slipping down his cheeks. "Tell me! Tell me who you really are! "

"…Isn't it obvious?" he said quietly, his eyes glazed. "I'm who I told you I was at the tower, Kratos Aurion, one of the Seraphim of Cruxis-"

"I know that part, you bastard! What Yuan said! He said you were- well? Was any of that real? Or was Yuan just trying to mess with my head too, huh?" the teen demanded, gripping tighter. "Are you- are you my father or aren't you? Was that all just some sick lie or was it- less of a sick lie! Tell me- dammit, tell me!"

Kratos scanned his son's face, allowing the heart-break he felt to reach his eyes, though his expression remained blank, lifeless.

"Answer me!"

"Yes."

"Yes- yes what?" Lloyd snapped.

"I am," Kratos said quietly, his eyes downcast once more. "I am your father. I deceived you again, I did, I lied, but I-…I am your father."

Another second of deafening silence, then Lloyd's fist slammed into his face. He didn't stumble, didn't flinch, just let his face turn with the blow and stayed there, slowly lowering his head back down, his bangs covering his eyes.

Lloyd went to say something, but couldn't quite get it out. Then he turned and ran back into the village, a couple of his friends following after, while the others stayed. Kratos turned and watched his son go, noting the expressions of his companions, knowing they were not anything remotely friendly or positive toward him, but it didn't matter.

He knew that he had already ruined everything.

**MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAH…it feels good to be mean sometimes :P lol**

**Don't worry don't worry, story isn't over yet, lol, I'm not ending it like this :P At least I'm not cruel enough to make you think I am, heheh**


	13. Chapter 13

**Yay! I updated! Me good girl, me get treat? lol**

**Welcome to the next chap for Daddy Dearest ;) Let the fun begin huh?**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

He sat there in silence, letting the shadows fall upon his face as the sun finally slipped under the horizon.

"You really expect us to believe that?"

"All I can tell you is the truth," he said flatly, his voice deprived of any telling emotions.

Why were they keeping him here?

When Lloyd had ran off he had gone to leave, to distance himself, he knew he no longer had any place there, he was no longer welcome. So why then had they stopped him? He had gone to leave, like they wanted, but they had cut him off. Raine headed them, her eyes narrowed dangerously. 'Explain. You owe it to him. He deserves to know why.' Yes, he did, he realized…and should he return to Cruxis now, what would happen? What would he tell Yggdrasill? What would Yuan relay of this? He did owe Lloyd the truth, but he hadn't seen Lloyd since he'd ran off. Genis and Colette had gone with him, they hadn't returned, surely they would be consoling him then…

"How did you change your form like that?" the half-elven woman demanded.

"I told you, I don't know. Everything I know about the situation I have relayed to you."

"You 'explained' what happened and your relationship to Lloyd, from that it's not that hard to understand why it is you…went along with this, but it still doesn't-"

"Doesn't make any sense?" he said quietly. "No, it doesn't. It was foolishness, from the very beginning I knew that. I was not responsible for my transformation, but it is true that I went along with the deception."

Slowly a smirk spread on his lips, a crooked, bitter little expression, a laugh that sounded more like a sigh of despair cracking through him.

"Pathetic, is it not? Yuan was right about that, I suppose." He said, getting to his feet. "There is nothing more to discuss. I have no desire to fight with you, I'll be on my way-"

"No you won't."

The voice was low, and so chilling for a second he didn't recognize it. Kratos looked up, looking to the speaker, just then realizing it was in fact his son.

Lloyd had arrived at some point, Genis and Colette fidgeting behind him. The teen's eyes were narrowed in an uncharacteristically terrifying glare, his one hand gripping the hilt of his right sword tightly.

"You aren't going, not until I talk to you," he said flatly.

It only took him a second to realize that his son's hand was shaking, violently, but it was clear to him it wasn't through rage. It was pain, the pain he had caused, that much was clear.

"…Very well," he said simply.

There was no point in arguing, he did owe it to him, he deserved it. He deserved every hurtful word, every rejection, everything that his son wanted to deal him, he deserved it.

He followed Lloyd away from his companions, speaking not a word, waiting for his son to confront him. The teen didn't turn to him, he didn't even speak for a good long while. Finally the dual swordsman let out a deep breath, turning to face him.

"Why?"

Kratos frowned a bit. He had expected that of course, but he had expected-

"If you really are my father, then why? Why did you do this, why did you betray us to Cruxis, why didn't you tell me during the journey, why did you trick me again and then tell me you were my father but- why did you go back to Cruxis to begin with? When Mom died, why did you-"

"Perhaps I should start at the beginning," Kratos said quietly, more of a comment than an actual suggestion.

Lloyd fidgeted, frowning; he glanced at his father and then nodded.

"…Very well-"

"No. All right, I changed my mind, I want you to- to just answer what I ask," Lloyd said, frowning more. "I just have too many things to ask right now."

Kratos remained silent, but nodded again, waiting for his son to speak.

"Was any of that real?"

The Seraph blinked, looking at his son, whose brown eyes lifted to his.

"Was any of it real? The stories about- about Mom, about where I was born, about what I'd do when I was little- about your childhood, was any of that real? Or were those just a bunch of lies to make me trust you?"

Kratos flinched slightly at the harsh sting to his son's voice, but made no comment on it.

"They were not lies," he said flatly, his eyes misted. "Everything I've told you since I joined you at Dirk's house was true. You were born in Izoold, Anna was how I described, and my father was a military man-..granted he was a general, not a militiaman, but other than that everything I told you was true."

"Except your name and who you were, of course?" Lloyd hissed, crossing his arms over his chest.

Kratos averted his eyes.

"Yes."

There was another moment of tense silence in which Lloyd tried to think of what next to say, and Kratos resigned himself to waiting to answer whatever he was asked.

"How did-…how did you – look like that? Yuan said you were human, like you weren't even an angel anymore, and then you just changed back like that. How? And if you could change like that why did you do it just a few weeks ago? Why did you pretend you were someone else-?"

"Why did I pretend I was someone else?" Kratos smirked bitterly. "Had I come to you, as I look, as you know me, and told you I was your father, there is no way you would have believed me to begin with."

"I-" Lloyd's face heated up, his fists clenched. "How did you do that, though? How did you-"

"As I explained to your companions and stated to Yuan, I don't know, if it was my doing at all I did not do it intentionally," Kratos said, frowning. "I did not make myself become like that, nor did I make myself…revert. I don't know what brought it about, or what made it undo itself."

Judging by the look on Lloyd's face, his obviously wasn't convinced. Thus Kratos began to recount his tale from the beginning, from when he had visited Anna's grave, and woken up as a middle-aged human. He told Lloyd how Dirk had found him, how he'd tried to dismiss himself and how Dirk had realized who he was to Lloyd. He told him about the conversation he had, and how he attempted to leave and discover how the change had happened to him only to lose his nerve when Lloyd showed up himself. He told him how he kept telling himself that he should leave, then justifying it to himself by making himself believe it was what Anna would want, that he could 'atone', that he could be a father Lloyd 'deserved'.

Lloyd remained oddly silent, listening to him, though he had yet to look at him again. Kratos fell silent as his last words trailed off, unsure what more to say, or if he should say anything more at all. The Seraph frowned after a moment and then turned, his head lowered.

"I shall leave now, then-"

"Leave?" Lloyd snapped suddenly. "Why the hell are you leaving?"

Kratos twitched just slightly in surprise, turning to look back at his son, whom was glaring death at him.

"Why- you want me to, do you not?" he frowned.

Lloyd scowled.

"When did I say that?" he snapped.

Kratos stared back at him.

"But- you hate me, don't you?"

"I'm mad at you! Of course I'm mad at you! You lied to me, you betrayed us, you- you've done so much, I can't believe you!" he snapped. "So yeah, I'm pissed! I want to punch you in the face, but- ..but I don't…_hate _you."

His father hesitated, unsure how to react to that statement. He was spared the process of deciding when Lloyd continued.

"I don't really understand why you went back to Cruxis after Mom died, I don't really understand why you betrayed us, but-…but with all that's happened I don't hate you." The teen looked away. "I was…happy. I was happy when you were traveling with us and you were…my dad, I was happy when you trained me, I was happy when you told me stories about mom, I was happy when you talked about yourself and even when you were teaching me math. I-…you know what? Do what you want. I don't care. If I'm not that important to you then go right ahead."

For a while neither of them moved. Kratos felt glued to the spot, unable to walk forward but unable to bring himself to walk away. Lloyd merely looked at him, looked at him with Anna's eyes, watching him. Perhaps they would have continued like that for hours, had it not finally grown too dark for either of them- well, for Lloyd to see Kratos' face.

"…It's getting dark," Kratos finally spoke. "You should get back to the village with your friends."

Lloyd didn't respond, his eyes averted to the side. Kratos frowned, hesitating a moment before walking forward. Lloyd made no indication he noticed, and the Seraph had made his way in front of him before he knew it. The teen didn't move at all, not dismissing or acknowledging him. For another moment the Seraph warred with himself on what to do, then slowly lift his hand and placed it gingerly on Lloyd's shoulder.

"Lloyd…"

Lloyd closed his eyes, his fingers curling at his sides.

"Your voice was the same the entire time," he said flatly. "I was too stupid to-…you know, in the dark like this I almost can't really tell the difference."

Before Kratos could respond Lloyd shrugged his shoulder out of the man's grip, turning his back on him.

"I'm going back to the others, if you want to come, fine, but if you don't-…then just don't bother showing up to me again. Got it? I don't want to see you ever again if all you're going to do is mess with me."

With that he simply walked off.

Kratos didn't follow him.

* * *

Lloyd sat with his head against the window pane, staring out quietly into the dark night. He hadn't said a word to any of them since they gotten back to Colette's house. It was too dark to make the trek through the woods to his house to ask Dirk about Colette's crystal, so they would have to make the trip in the morning. It was his fault. If they had just gone earlier, if he just left it alone, they could have gone right there and figured out what to do for Colette, he could've just gone off without finding out. He smirked bitterly, staring unseeing out into the dark street. Sure, could've gone on believing that sweet little lie. No one had approached him; Genis had tried earlier but Raine had stopped him. Since then he'd just sat there, lost in his own thoughts.

The bastard didn't even follow him.

His fingers curled subconsciously, a frown slipping into his face. Well, what had he expected? If he could only allow himself to be his father- hell, if he could only allow himself to be around him if he was using a ruse, why the hell would he be able to come as he was?

Still, on some level, he had…kind of hoped that maybe…

He felt oddly numb, oddly unfeeling, oddly…accepting, of it all. He wanted to feel mad, he wanted to feel upset, he wanted to feel hurt or betrayed or- something. Yet he couldn't really feel anything; that was probably the most frustrating thing of all. He wanted to yell or even cry, but he couldn't do either.

The more and more he thought about it, the more he concluded that he was stupid. Stupid for never seeing the connections, stupid for never putting the pieces together. Even before 'Richard', he had been stupid not to realize the mercenary had been…different, with him. Still- still! It was obvious the idiot cared, so why the hell was he staying away? Even on the Regeneration Journey, he had looked out for him, taught him, even saved his sorry ass several times. He had scolded him every time of course, but looking back now it was so obviously the scolding of a concerned parent-…Yes, it was, wasn't it?

He had snapped at him at the pact with Sylph the same way he'd snapped at him during the seal breaking at Thoda, harsh, but with the same underlying concern. So-

There was a knock at the door.

For a moment Lloyd just stared at it from across the living room, half unsure he heard it. Genis, Regal and Zelos, who were sprawled sleeping around the room didn't stir at all, deep asleep. How long had he been sitting here? Had it been that long already-?

Another knock.

Slowly Lloyd got to his feet, his eyes not leaving the door. He maneuvered his way quietly around his companions before reaching the door, finding himself unable to do little more than stare at it. His hand found the handle after a moment; he took a deep breath, opening the door.

Kratos looked down at him, the spikes of his hair casting shadows from the lamplight of the dark village.

Lloyd slammed the door on him.

The teen turned and nearly went back to his seat before halting, his hands clenching and unclenching.

"Dammit…" he muttered, turning back to the door and opening it. "What do you want?"

Kratos frowned a bit, but cut Lloyd off before the boy could snap at him again. The angel had slipped the chain of his locket off from around his neck and was holding it out to Lloyd, who stared at it.

"You can tear out my picture if you wish, but I want you to have the picture of your mother…" he said, shifting uncomfortably. "I-…you should have it. I know you made it quite clear you never wanted to see me again, but I felt I should at least give you this before I go."

"You're an idiot," Lloyd said before he even thought, glaring at the man.

Kratos blinked.

"…You can sleep in Phaidra's rocking chair," he said sharply, turning back inside. "Not that you need to sleep, I know that, but you're old and old people like rocking chairs, right?"

"Pardon?" Kratos said, soundly strangely bemused.

"I'm tired," Lloyd muttered. "I'm grumpy when I'm tired, so just come in so I can go to sleep."

He walked in and promptly set himself on his make-shift bedding, his back toward Kratos and the open door. For a moment he lay there, listening, when after what felt like eons he heard the Seraph step in and close the door behind him. Lloyd released a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding, the rest of his body relaxing along with it. He listened to the man's steady footprints and the light groan of one of the chairs as Kratos settled into it, a sudden rush of nostalgia seizing him. He had been scarcely two, fallen asleep on the sofa when his father had come home and sat down. He would talk in quiet murmurs with his mother, while he listened, half-asleep. It would go quiet for a while and eventually his father would pick him up and set him into his bed…

"Good night, Dad," Lloyd half muttered, his voice muffled partially by his pillow.

A moment of silence.

"Good night…Lloyden," came the quiet response.

"What the hell does that even mean anyway?" he found himself asking, speaking up a little more. "That's a weird nickname."

He wasn't sure what he was expecting, a soft chuckle wasn't it.

"It's an…archaic, suffix I suppose," he said. "When I was young, adding 'en' to someone's name was basically the equivalent of calling them 'little'…my mother used to call me 'Kratosen', namely, 'little Kratos'."

"…Just how old are you anyway?" Lloyd frowned, his eyes opening just a bit. "You're an angel, so…well I know you're at least forty-something, but you're an angel, so you could be a lot older, right?"

Kratos remained silent.

"I'm going to make you tell me," Lloyd said sharply. "You've lied about enough stuff, I-"

"No, you're right," Kratos interrupted, his voice soft. "I will…hold no more secrets from you. Tomorrow, if you like, I shall tell you how old I am."

"Why can't you just tell me now?" Lloyd sat up, scanning the man.

Kratos looked oddly wise as he smiled at him, settled down in Frank's chair, his sword resting at the side. The smile was faint but warm, an odd little glint in his eyes, like an old man that was amused by something a youngster had said to him. It unnerved Lloyd a bit, it made him look tired, old a bit even.

"If I told you tonight it would probably end up with you staying up the rest of the night, you said yourself that you are tired, you should rest now, while it's still dark."

Lloyd frowned, scanning the man a moment more before turning back to lay on his 'bed'.

"Fine," he muttered. "Tomorrow then, you'll tell me. You'll tell me that, and you'll tell me what you know about what's happening to Colette."

"…Very well."

Lloyd shifted a bit, closing his eyes while he situated himself more comfortably on the bed.

"One other thing."

"Hm?"

"I'm not 'little' anymore, so don't call me 'Lloyden'," he half mumbled.

Another soft chuckle met his ears right before his exhaustion claimed him and he fell into deep slumber. So he didn't hear when the man responded with 'Good night, Lloyden'.

…**Yay I updated! Lol. So yeah….fluff is up the what. Of course, things aren't going to be all happy rainbow bunnies. The group still has to adjust to this and just because Lloyd's given old Kratos another chance doesn't mean things are going to be perfectly smooth between the two of them either ;)**

**Just enjoy the fluff for now, more glorious tension is on the way. **

**Review? **


	14. Chapter 14

**love ALL the TOS EPS! 3**

**Disclaimer: Own nothing I does **

The reaction was about what one could expect.

"What the hell is he doing here?"

Granted, Lloyd didn't expect to hear that after getting shaken awake by his half-elven best fried, and granted he didn't expect his entire group to be up staring at the spectacle before him.

Yet somehow the thing that shocked him most, was Kratos calmly preparing breakfast in Phaidra's kitchen.

"Uh…" Lloyd blinked groggily, glancing over at his father and then at his tense friends. "…Making…breakfast, I guess?"

He was given a long silent stare as a rebuttal.

Lloyd frowned, hesitating a moment.

"I- I'm sorry, I should've asked you guys if you were okay with him staying with us-"

"Why do you even want him here?" Zelos asked icily, his arms crossed. "I mean this is only the second elaborate lie he's put you through?"

Lloyd hesitated, looking over at Kratos. The Seraph said nothing, but lifted his eyes to meet Lloyd's, the pair exchanging a silent look. The teen thought a moment, unsure of how to go about things as they were now. He frowned, getting to his feet and stretching a bit, looking at his father and then at his friends.

"I should've asked you guys what you thought about it," he said again. "I understand if you're mad at me, but I told- I told Kratos I wanted him to stay. Yuan already confirmed that he really is…well who he says he is-...this time…uh.."

Somehow this had all sounded much more convincing in his head.

"Look." He started again, looking at his friends. "He really is my…father. I know he lied to me, but he didn't lie about the things that really were important- to me. He lied about important stuff, yeah, but he's not going to anymore. Kratos promised he'd tell me everything about Cruxis, including how to cure Colette."

"I don't agree with this," Raine said flatly, nearly giving Lloyd whiplash by her speed in opposing him. "He may be your father, Lloyd, but it's obvious he can't be trusted. Even if he did lie to us in the beginning with the intention of keeping you safe, he obviously didn't go through with that, and-"

"That's why Kratos tried to be with us this last time, then, isn't it?"

He hadn't noticed Colette was there, as quiet as she had been. The blonde Chosen smiled weakly, looking at them and then Lloyd.

"I think Lloyd knows what he's doing, if he trusts Kratos, I will too." She smiled a bit more. "I mean…what Kratos did, it really does sound like something a father would do, doesn't it? He tried to keep Lloyd away from the journey to protect him, and he was really strict teaching him because he was worried about him. Then…then later, when he had…changed, he really was trying to be like a father to Lloyd. So I think that if Lloyd forgives him, then we should try to trust him."

Lloyd stared at her a moment, her words sinking in. He hadn't…thought about that- well, yes, he had thought about that; all the odd behavior, but he hadn't once thought of that as being something that a father would do. Though now that he thought about it, like Colette put it, it did all become more understandable. Maybe not really 'right', but he could understand where Kratos was coming from a little bit more. The dual swordsman looked over at Kratos, whom had remained silent, ignoring them as he prepared the meal until he was finally addressed.

"Well? Are you really going to tell us how to help Colette?" Raine asked, her eyes narrowed despite her more amiable tone of voice.

Kratos set down the spatula he had been using, finally lifting his head to look at them.

"I promised Lloyd I would tell him anything he wanted to know, he need only ask. If that includes the way to cure the Chosen, then I shall tell you all that as well," he said flatly, his expression keeping its usual stoic blank.

"So…so how do we help her?" Lloyd asked.

Kratos was quiet a moment, suddenly very interested in his cooking, but broke from his silence before Raine could push him to speak.

"She has Chronic Angelus Crystallus Inofficium," he stated. "Its cause is the Cruxis Crystal, her body is rejecting it. The crystallization will spread over her body and once her surface is crystallized, it will begin to crystallize her internal organs. If that proceeds unaffected, she will die. There's something called a Rune Crest that, if can be made, will not only stop the process but revert her body to normal. The crest is comprised of a mana leaf herb, a mana fragment, and zircon, they can be found in Heimdall, Welgaia and the Toize mines respectively. As for the process itself, I do not know it, but I know the process for it is recorded in the Royal Archives in Meltokio."

He spoke so directly that it put many of them off-guard, staring at the man as they let the information soak in. Kratos waited quietly for their reactions, occupying himself with his task once more.

"Then I assume our first stop should be Meltokio," Raine said.

"That's correct, having the required materials will mean nothing if we have no way of processing them into the crest," he replied.

"My company dealt in zircon," Regal spoke up. "That should be the easiest to obtain, what of the other two? Welgaia is Cruxis' base, and Heimdall is restricted unless one has permission from the king."

"Yeah…the king isn't really on our side at the moment," Zelos muttered. "But it seems like we're gonna have to confront him either way, we're not getting into the archives to begin with without him."

"So we're decided, we'll go to Meltokio." Lloyd nodded.

He glanced back at his father, who had returned to seemingly ignoring them. An uneasy silence fell among them once more as the group tried to decide what it is they were supposed to be doing in that moment. Kratos strolled away from the stove finally, placing a plate on the table before walking back to the oven.

"Make certain you eat enough, Lloyd, it's going to be a long trip."

Lloyd twitched just a bit, feeling a mix between a strange feeling of embarrassment and an uncomfortable sensation he couldn't quite place. He felt their eyes on him but managed a nod.

"Uh- yeah, I will, thanks… Dad."

"If any of the rest of you want something, come and get some, I've already made enough for a few people," Kratos said, piling more food onto another plate.

The group exchanged glances but Lloyd moved forward to the table, hoping his seemingly comfortable appearance would ease the others. He seated himself as Colette chipper accepted a plate from Kratos, thanking him. Kratos didn't thank her but acknowledged her with a nod, going back to his task. Lloyd did his best not to fidget, to act as if things were normal. Really, though, what else could he do? Standing on the other side of the room and eying Kratos as if he was a rabid dog wasn't going to get them anywhere, there was no point in it; the only other thing he could do was get Kratos to leave but…

No, he had made his choice. He was going to give him a chance, another chance, that was what he had decided.

He didn't know just how hard this was going to be, though…

"Ugh, I always hate going through here," Zelos complained loudly, pinching his nose.

"Then quicken your pace and we'll be out faster."

Zelos glared at the Seraph's back, the ancient swordsman not bothering to turn or slow his pace. Lloyd fidgeted, watching the swallow-tails of his coat sway back and forth as he walked. It was like back when he just joined them again, walking silently, cold, with no opportunity for one to make small talk with him or even to catch his eye. It was…frustrating, to say the least. It also didn't help that…

Lloyd frowned.

No matter what he did he couldn't stop himself from comparing the man in front of him to the man that had walked beside him for the last few weeks. It didn't make sense to compare them, he knew that, they were the same person, just… As 'Richard', he would walk at a relaxed pace, beside him, making eye contact and nodding now and then as he talked to him; even speaking of himself, of Anna, perhaps uncomfortably but doing so none the less. He would comment and even smile a little now and then.

Then he'd become 'Kratos' again, and he went back to being what his initial image was of Kratos.

He didn't like it.

Why was it so hard for him to just…keep doing that? He already knew he was his father, already knew that he had deceived and betrayed him; he had forgiven him anyway. So why was he shutting him out again? Was it because of all the others being wary of him? Or- or…was it him? Was he shutting Kratos out, making himself seem like he didn't want to talk to him? After all he…he had to admit he got uncomfortable when speaking to the man now- Maybe they just both needed time, maybe that was it? After all it was quite a…rift, to deal with, maybe-

A hand grabbed his upper arm roughly, jerking him to the side. Lloyd let out a sudden shout of surprise in time to see a flash of steel and a dead sewer viper to his side.

"W- what the-?"

"It snuck up on you, they are poisonous," Kratos said flatly, sheathing his sword. "Are you all right?"

"I- y- yeah, I'm fine, sorry I guess I wasn't paying-"

"Attention? No, you were not," the man said sharply, his expression cold as he met his eyes. "You were handling yourself just fine during the ranch infiltration, now as soon as you're in familiar territory you let down your guard. You cannot do that, one wrong move and you could lose your life. I taught you better."

Lloyd stared a moment, feeling as if he had been smacked across the face. He had said it so curtly, so devoid of affection, so harshly-

His fingers curled.

"I screwed up, all right? I'm sorry, but insulting me isn't going to fix it! It's done! I'll pay more attention now just- like you're one to criticize me! What the hell is wrong with you!? Why are you being such an asshole ag- all of a sudden?! Huh?!" he snapped, glaring up at the older man.

Kratos merely looked at him, blank-faced, no sign of a response.

"Look, fine, if you don't want to be here, then go!" Lloyd scowled, turning back to the path. "I'm not going to stop you! I thought you wanted to be here, that's why I asked you to come. If you don't want to be here then just leave!"

"Lloyd-"

"What!" the teen half-roared, whirling around to meet Kratos' eyes.

The rage promptly left him as he saw the misted look in Kratos' eyes. He felt oddly deflated as Kratos spoke again, his voice soft.

"I apologize," he said simply. "You're right. You do know better, you do know how to take care of yourself. I simply…"

Lloyd sighed, diverting his eyes.

"I'm sorry too," he mumbled. "I just-…let's talk later, all right? Once we find that method for Colette's cure, okay?"

"Very well."

"Maybe you guys should consider counseling," Zelos cut in. "I mean, not like they'd believe half your story anyway but-"

"Chosen if you continue to speak when it's unwanted I'll see to it you take a sudden swim into the water here," Kratos said flatly.

"Ouch, your daddy's being mean to me, Bud…"

For once, Lloyd and Kratos shared a sigh of exasperation.

They continued on through the sewers without any further interesting events of any kind; it wasn't until the group was nearing the end that Kratos abruptly stopped, Colette just a moment after. Lloyd quickly did the same, looking at them.

"I hear people up ahead," Colette said. "It sounds like…"

"We should hurry," Kratos told Lloyd. "It sounds as if we'll need to apprehend them."

Lloyd nodded and lead the group off again, the voices coming into range as they approached the exit.

"It sure takes a long time…." a voice said.

"Yes I know, but I've been told to make it look like an illness, the poison is slow but he'll die of it for sure."

"Well he better, the princess is beginning to get suspicious about her father's health."

"Don't worry, I gave my word, the Pope will have his throne in no time."

"Wait that sounds like…" Lloyd muttered.

Regal and Presea had already rushed to the edge of the stairs, weapons at the ready.

"Vharley!" Regal snapped.

"You will pay for what you did to my sister!" Presea added, gripping her axe tightly.

The guard the broker had been talking too quickly fled and Vharley himself attempted to do the same before he was cut off by Sheena in one of her signature 'teleportation's.

It was over too quickly for anyone to really react, Presea's axe was bloodied and Regal stood over the body, both of them glaring into the corpse as if they could cause it further pain. There was a brief, tense moment of silence before Raine spoke, deducing the situation from what they had heard.

"So it seems Vharley was working for the pope? That would explain his connections to the Desians, Rodyle at any rate."

From the calculating look in her eyes it was easy to figure what she was thinking, nonetheless, Kratos voiced it for the few members of the group that would not come to the same conclusion, namely Lloyd and Colette.

"So by saving the King's life he'll be indebted to you and allow you access to the archives? I simply could have demanded he do so but given that this will clear your wanted status, it's worth undertaking."

Lloyd frowned a bit at that but Raine's quick agreement stopped him from commenting on it. Maybe they both weren't that cold just…maybe it was some adult thing, in situations like this. Regal could be a little harshly realistic sometimes too and Zelos-…okay well not Zelos but everyone else was like that.

Though…

"Hey, what do you mean you could have 'demanded' it?" he asked, eying his father curiously.

"I have many connections, just as Yuan does, as Seraphim of Cruxis we've implemented that power into the government when necessary," he said. "I've had dealings with the king before and if not for that, I could simply have shown my wings and it would have had the desired effect."

"It would have caused an uproar more like…" Raine said.

"Perhaps, but we would have been gone by then," Kratos answered dismissively.

Lloyd wasn't quite sure he liked that answer.

* * *

"Why the hell didn't you do anything? I thought you had all these connections in the castle!"

"Connections to be used if need be, yes, but you seemed to have it all well in hand, Chosen. What with your using Spiritua's legend and then talking the king into assisting us, there was no need for me to step in."

"It could have been easier if you did," Zelos pouted, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"Perhaps," the seraph answered flatly.

"Lazy old bastard just didn't want to have to do anything, your joints hurting?"

"All right already, Zelos just knock it off, we get it, he's old and you don't like him, it's getting annoying now!" Genis groaned, rubbing his face.

Zelos' eyes narrowed but he just shrugged, seemingly ambivalent to the entire scenario. The group walked in silence a moment as they headed for the archives before Raine spoke up.

"By the way, Kratos, I assume you actually know what happened with the real Spiritua? I find it interesting how both worlds apparently had the same Chosen."

"She's fake."

The group stopped, Kratos stopping as well so as not to walk into their midst as they all turned to look back at him, staring.

"…What?"

"…She's fake," he said again. "Spiritiua was invented by Cruxis as a means of setting down 'rules', for the Chosen's journey. The book of Spiritiua in Sylvarant is basically a handbook in order to make sure the Chosen finds the seals and the legends regarding attempted harm to the Chosen and the perpetrators being punished by an 'angel of death' are likewise…well that last one was more a warning, I suppose. The stories were made to guide and protect the Chosen, nothing more."

He frowned when they continued to stare. Then again, Anna had reacted much the same way. He supposed false or not, growing up all one's life with stories about some hero were going to be cherished…and painful when found out they were false. Perhaps he had been too blunt? He hadn't thought that, given all they had learned, that it would affect them much.

When he had told her, she had stared at him a long moment, then quickly blinked to bat away building tears. He had been quite perplexed about that. He had told her the truth about the worlds, about Cruxis, about angels, Martel, him, Mithos…why was it that a silly myth was the thing that seemed to have the most affect on her? He had told her as much….

"_I don't know, I guess it's pretty silly but I-…when I was little I guess I just always grew up with those stories about her, you know? Stories about some brave person who saved the world, who saved others, who managed to come out on top despite everything. I guess I just-…I know they aren't real but I guess that one just…meant a lot to me. I always tried to be like her, y'know? I know that's silly…but I just…wanted to believe people could really be like that, I guess, that maybe I could be too."_

"_Like that? Like what?"_

"_That I could …'be the hero', I guess; save people, be a better person…You must think that's silly, huh?"_

_He had been quiet a moment._

"…_No, not at all."_

"I suppose it's not really that surprising, is it?" Raine sighed a bit, breaking Kratos from his memories as she turned her eyes back to the library. "After all Cruxis managed to make the worlds believe a lot of things."

"It's not that important anyway," Lloyd said so casually that Kratos couldn't help but frown.

"Why do you say that? Obviously it seems upsetting to at least some of your companions, your mother was a bit upset about it as well, when I told her."

The teen seemed to consider that a moment, shifting his weight as he bit his lip, that familiar expression he and Anna both made when they were deep in thought.

"I guess it's not important if it's fake because…well, it meant something, right?" Lloyd said, looking back at his father. "It doesn't matter if it's 'real' or not I guess, because it taught people stuff, you know? I mean…I guess I always found stories like that to be inspiring when I was little. I know they're not real, but they never stopped me from trying to be a better person because of them, right? I mean I guess…obviously fake things can be bad."

He frowned again, considering.

"The whole thing about the regeneration journey…about Martel and the Chosen…they're all fake, and people get hurt because of it. So it's important to know whether something is real or not, I guess, so you can know for sure if it's hurting someone or not. Cruxis' lies are hurting people, so it's important to know they're fake, but with stuff like that…with stories like that, I don't think it matters if it's 'fake' if it still made people want to…be a better person, I guess. You know?"

Kratos looked at him a moment, a ghost of a smile reaching his lips.

"You really need to learn how to convey your thoughts better, Lloyd, that was confusing and pretty silly," Genis half-teased.

Kratos shook his head.

"Not at all…"

**FINALLY! *plops in exhaustion***

**Ugh finally updated something…review? **


	15. Chapter 15

**Well next chapter, sorry I haven't updated other things…**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

"You said you'd tell me."

Kratos frowned a bit, avoiding his sons' gaze. He had, he had given his word he would tell Lloyd anything he wanted to tell him. Such a foolish thing to promise, but then again he did owe it to him. Still, how…how could he explain that? Aside from the ones who had been there, Anna was the only one he had ever told of it.

Lloyd frowned, his arms crossed over his chest as Kratos gazed off through the nearest window, his usual stoic expression. It had been getting late, too dark to fly to Altamira and find the Zircon, and the other two were going to be more difficult to get right away. So they were resting in Zelos' mansion, without fear of discovery now because of the rescinded wanted status. Then Lloyd had reminded his father of one thing he promised he would tell him, namely, how old he really was.

"…I did," he said simply. "But it's a rather…complicated thing, are you sure you want to discuss it now?"

"I said yes already," Lloyd scowled.

Kratos sighed, walking over to the chair in the room and seating himself in it. Lloyd blinked, eying his father, drawing the Seraph's attention.

"Well sit down and I'll-…what is it?"

"I- …I don't know," he admitted, fidgeting a bit. "Just- …we've never really talked like this."

Kratos frowned, raising his brow slightly.

"Well I mean, y'know, sitting down in a room, without some crisis coming or you criticizing me. Seems like every time we've ever talked you've been standing up scolding me or I was yelling at you or-"

The elder male's frown deepened and Lloyd cut off, feeling confused just a moment before he realized that wasn't true. As 'Richard' he had spent a good amount of time sitting with him, talking comfortably. Kratos doubtless was thinking the same, given how his eyes averted again, his russet eyes misting. Lloyd hesitated and then quickly took the chair across from him, eager to distract him, and get his answer.

"So? How old are you?"

Kratos seemed to consider something a moment before he sighed, rubbing his face.

"Don't shout."

"What?" Lloyd frowned. "I'm not shouting-"

"I know, but you might, your mother was quite loud when I told her, she was …surprised," he finished weakly.

There was a moment of silence.

"You can't be _that _old-"

"Four-thousand and twenty-eight."

Lloyd cut off mid-sentence. He didn't do much other than that and stare a bit, as if he had heard him wrong.

"Four thousand and twenty eight…what?"

"…My age," Kratos said flatly.

Lloyd's eyebrow slowly arched up, his eyes widening a little bit despite it.

"Dad that's impossible, you're not-…."

Another moment of silence.

The clock ticked once.

"Wait- are you serious-?" Lloyd half-yelped, nearly jumping out of his chair. "That's-"

"Angels are capable of stopping their metabolic clock," Kratos cut him off. "Yggdrasill and Yuan are about the same age as well, the three of us have been alive since the Kharlan War, or as you know it more commonly now 'The Ancient War'."

Lloyd could only stare at him. Several times he went to speak but then just went silent, unsure of how he could even begin to respond to such a thing. He didn't speak or even move again until Kratos spoke.

"Is there anything else you wish to know?"

"I'm still trying to get my mind around the you being as old as the Ancient War thing," Lloyd admitted, slumping down into his chair, stunned. "I-that just seems so crazy! …Then again I guess a lot of crazy stuff has happened but I just-…you're a cradle-robber."

It was Kratos' turn to stare.

"I beg your pardon?"

"You're a cradle-robber," Lloyd said again. "You're way more than old enough to have been Mom's dad, or her grandpa, or her great-grandpa, or her-"

"Or yours, yes."

"Glad to see you're so calm about this," Lloyd muttered dryly.

"I suppose after so long I start thinking of myself as timeless rather than old," Kratos said with a weak smirk.

"How can you be that old? I mean I figured you were older than you looked and all, but-?"

"During the Kharlan war, there were…techniques, of sorts that someone who had become an angel using a crystal could use in order to stop their internal clock, hence they stopped aging," he said, looking at him. "I was one angel did that did such."

Lloyd frowned, sinking into the cushion of his chair as he let the idea sink in. After a moment he spoke again, looking up at his father.

"How did you…meet? You never told me exactly how, I mean I know she was in the ranch and you saved her, but-…but why? If you were in Cruxis- or trying to get away from Cruxis, why would you have done that?"

Kratos frowned, his eyes misting over as he thought back to the event and considered whether or not he should tell his son.

"I had taken on a job as a mercenary," he said quietly. "I didn't…know what else to do with myself. I have been fighting all my life, my best skill was always to fight, all I had done for thousands of years was fight…so I did it, it was all I could think of to do."

The man thought a moment, looking up at his son's expectant face.

"…I was escorting a group to Luin from Hima, your mother was in that group, she had just been to visit her uncle, I believe… Over the course of time we were traveling, I did not speak with your mother that much. Here and there, she was…quite talkative, and I was not exactly open to discussion."

A weak smile cracked the Seraph's face and suddenly, he looked old again, in Lloyd's mind. That look was the look of a tired, grieving old man, the look of a man that thought back painfully on days past.

"Noishe seemed to like her, though, which I suppose is why I began to speak with her," he said. "Noishe…he is very wise, he senses things about people…so I knew she must be a good person, in some way."

The smile fell from his face, staring off into nothing.

"I collected my pay after getting their group to Luin, I stayed there at the inn that night and then headed off in the morning. I didn't see or hear of her again for a while…I suppose it was a year later when I returned to Luin from another job. I was heading for Asgard, when I spotted a patrol of Desians, looking for an escapee."

"You mean…Mom?" Lloyd asked, frowning as well.

"Yes." Kratos nodded. "I kept an eye on them to see what they were up to…and I saw them catch Anna. They were going to drag her back to the ranch…and I killed them."

His eyes refocused on Lloyd, scanning him a moment before continuing.

"I saved her from them and she recognized me, she had already had the exsphere attached to her body. I…originally I was going to return her home, but I knew that without a key-crest it was only a matter of time before-…I ended up searching for a dwarf with her, so that a crest could be made for her. In that time…we…"

"You fell in love?" Lloyd asked.

Kratos flinched, blinking once or twice. His tired face softened into a strange expression, closing his eyes and nodding.

"Yes...we did," he answered softly.

The pair sat quietly for a bit, deep in thoughts and memories. Lloyd went to ask another question but stopped, frowning to himself. After thinking about it a moment he got to his feet, Kratos looking at him as he got up.

"That's…that's all, for now," he said awkwardly, glancing aside. "It's- it's late, so we should probably sleep- er, I should probably sleep, that is. I know you don't really need to sleep."

Kratos nodded.

"Sleep well."

"I-..yeah, thanks," Lloyd nodded. "You get some rest too, okay?"

That faint smile reappeared on Kratos' face but it didn't seem as awkward this time; Lloyd found himself tentatively returning the smile.

"Night…Dad."

"Good night, Lloyden."

* * *

"I've never really liked this place," Kratos stated dryly as they entered Altamira.

"Really? It seems kinda cool to me," Lloyd said with a grin. "It's really exciting and there's all this weird stuff. Like the hotel, it's so tall and it's made of glass! How cool is that?"

"Well it's less the architecture and more-" the man began.

It was then that they were welcomed by the usual greeters at the resort, namely, the Altamira 'bunnies'.

"Welcome!" Two girls in the bunny outfits popped out of nowhere, a blonde and brunette. "We hope you enjoy your stay in Altamira!"

"Well of course we will, ladies," Zelos said with his usual cheesy grin. "As long as you are here to keep us company!"

Kratos made an odd grunting sound which made Lloyd frown, eying his father.

"D-?"

"Hey there handsome!" the girls chimed in unison, both of them suddenly hanging off one of Kratos' arms. "Welcome to Altamira! We would be more than happy to show you around-"

"I'm not interested-" Kratos replied tersely, smoothly slipping his arms from their grips.

They both erupted into a chorus of giggles which made the entire group look on in either amusement or discomfort. Lloyd found his jaw had dropped when the blonde glomped his father, rubbing her cheek boldly against his.

"We don't get such handsome guests everyday! Are you sure we can't at least show you to the casino? We could entertain you-"

"My wife wouldn't like that," he said flatly.

The bunny girl promptly released him and her and her brunette friend had gravitated back to Zelos at such speed that Lloyd was sure they must've had whiplash of some sort. Zelos of course wasted no time in flirting with them and the rest of the group likewise wasted no time in hurrying deeper into the city without him.

"…Wasn't that a bit dishonest, Kratos?" Raine eyed him.

"Not at all. Anna would've in all likelihood pulled their ears off and shoved them down their throats, had she been present," Kratos responded evenly.

"Surely you're exaggerating?" Regal cocked an eyebrow. "She wouldn't have been that violent-?"

Kratos gave the man a very blank yet somehow self-explanatory look.

"Ah," Regal finished, dropping the subject.

"Hey!" Zelos shouted, racing up to catch them. "What the hell, guys? Why did you ditch me?"

"You seemed busy," Sheena snapped, rolling her eyes.

"Don't be jealous, Babe," Zelos responded with his usual grin.

"So have you been to Regals' company before?" Lloyd asked Kratos, ignoring what Zelos was now claiming was a 'lover's quarrel'.

"I have on occasion, not while Duke Bryant was in charge of it," Kratos replied, seemingly disinterested. "It's grown a significant amount since then."

Lloyd nodded in response, unsure of what else to say. The entire group was more quiet than usual, despite many of the members attempts at keeping things 'normal'…or as normal as they ever were. Still they easily managed to locate George and gain access to the records room, where they located the shipping manifest of the zircon.

"Okay it says the last place they shipped to was-" Lloyd began.

There was a flash of movement quicker than they perceived followed by a loud grunt of pain. Kratos was gripping the wrist of a wounded Kuchinawa, which from the looks of it had just taken Kratos' knee to the gut and was half doubled over.

"Wh- what the-?"

"Kuchinawa?!" Sheena gasped.

Kratos calmly pried the paper from the ninja's grip.

"Is there any particular reason you were trying to interfere with us?" he asked coolly. "I assume you all know him?"

"Kuchinawa the Pope is dead! Why are you still doing this?" Sheena asked, obviously upset.

"Why?! You know why! My parents are dead because of you! Our village was massacred because you failed to pact Volt! I will never forgive you! I will get in your way until I die!"

Kratos' sword was pressed against his throat.

"Kratos-!" Colette gasped.

"Dad, wait-!"

"He's made his intentions to harm us clear, I see no reason to let him live."

"Kratos is right," Raine said with a small frown. "He's just going to keep getting in our way, we can't afford that."

"Wait! Don't-…don't kill him, he's right." Sheena's face fell. "It is my fault, he has the right to be mad at me. Kuchinawa, if I'm the one you hate-"

"Sheena if you even think about sacrificing yourself again, I'll never forgive you!" Lloyd snapped.

"If I'm the one you hate then let's settle this, the traditional way. I'll meet you at the Isle of Decision, and we'll settle this once and for all."

Kuchinawa's eyes narrowed, scanning her and then nodding.

"Fine then. I accept."

"Kratos…please let him go," Sheena asked the Seraph.

The angel eyed her a moment and then released Kuchinawa, eyes narrowed warningly at the man as he backed up from them. He disappeared in a burst of smoke, leaving them there.

"That was foolish," he stated curtly. "Here, Lloyd."

"Huh-? Oh, thanks.." Lloyd took the paper from him. "It…looks like the last shipment was sent to Sybak at the Imperial Research Academy."

"So should we head there now or…Sheena where is it you're supposed to meet him?" Genis asked.

"In Mizuho. It can wait though, our first priority is healing Colette."

Before Colette could protest Raine nodded in agreement, declaring they should hurry for Sybak. The woman eyed Kratos a moment before turning to leave, most of the group doing the same. Kratos had a disapproving look on his face, obviously he did not agree with letting the ninja go but..

"Thank you, that…that's just something Sheena has to do, you know? You understand, don't you?" Lloyd looked at him.

Kratos was silent a moment, considering.

"I suppose, it was still foolish. " He stated, closing his eyes. "Then again you have a knack for turning foolish decisions into good choices…the majority of the time. You still have to think more carefully about the possible consequences of those actions. I know you know that, I simply…"

Lloyd bit his lip.

"Sheena…she did the same thing I did. She made a mistake and her village suffered for it, people died. I don't think it was really Sheena's fault, she caused it but…she was just a little kid, how is it fair to blame her when they made a little kid face up against a spirit?" He patted the side of his leg, brow furrowed in thought. "It wasn't even her choice to try. I mean…what happened in Iselia was my fault. I know that. I made those choices and did what I did, and everyone else suffered for it. It's different-"

He flinched, looking up when Kratos placed a hand on his shoulder.

"It's all right, Lloyd," he said, meeting his eyes. "I do understand. I know you do as well. I…worry about you, is all."

"Colette says you always did, that's why you always acted like that to me," Lloyd cracked a weak smile. "I thought you just hated my guts or something, how you were always criticizing me."

A faint smile brushed Kratos' face before he turned to the door.

"Come along, Lloyd, your companions are probably at the elevator already."

"Hey you were the one keeping us behind," Lloyd huffed, following him.

They made to head right for Sybak but it became obvious as soon as they got outside that that would not be happening very quickly. The skies were black and thunder was heard in the distance.

"Oh well that's not good," Zelos noted.

"We'll have to find a place to wait it out," Raine said. "Regal, if it's not too much trouble-?"

"I'll tell George to have rooms prepared for us at the hotel," he replied, turning to go back inside. "We may be here a while, tropical storms are nothing to sneeze at much less attempt to fly in."

"Can we really afford to wait?" Lloyd frowned, obviously concerned about Colette. "We need to get her that rune crest as soon as we can."

"Calm yourself, Lloyd," Kratos stated. "None of her hair has started to fall out yet."

"Her hair?"

"Is that another effect of the disease?" Raine eyed him.

"Yes, the crystallization process is relatively slow; while we do need to hurry we still have enough time to manufacture the crest. When the skin crystallizes and her hair begins to fall out is when time is short enough that we have to rush."

"Colette, are you feeling all right?" Lloyd asked her.

"Yes, nothing like that's happened yet." She gave him a small smile. "I'll be okay soon Lloyd, please don't worry so much."

Kratos frowned, looking at his son and the blonde. It reminded him of himself and Anna, when the exsphere would be particularly draining. She would tire easily, getting bags under her eyes. She was much like the young Chosen in that way, she would always tell him not to worry and flash that smile of hers even despite how much she was in pain…

He lifted his gaze back to the churning clouds, frowning. If within his power he would make certain the Chosen lived, for his son's sake, and he'd do whatever he could to assist the boy in his goals. It was what Anna would want, after all. Whatever had brought about his transformation must've had that intention as well, he thought with a slight shake of his head. That in itself was another troubling mystery, but…it could wait. There were more important things to focus on right now. Once the girl was healed, there was the matter of finding the materials for the ring of the pact. In fact, he could probably find the adamantite in Sybak while they were there…

Soon things would be settled, one way or another…

**Hee hee and isn't Lloyd just going to love that? ;p **

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	16. Chapter 16

**Okay, update! Yay! Was hard to get this done hope you like it though!**

**Disclaimer: Own nothing I do**

Kratos frowned, scanning through the shelves of various ores and minerals. It had to be here somewhere, they had the most extensive collection of geologic samples outside of Cruxis. There was nowhere else he could possibly procure it without alerting Cruxis to what he was doing, so he would just have to- aha, there it was. The Seraph relaxed a bit, taking the box from the shelf to examine the contents. One large slab of adamantite, not the best quality but it was good enough for its purpose. He sighed in relief, closing the box back up and inserting it into his wingpack. That was one down, now if he could manage to get a hold of Sacred Wood…Presea would likely know how to get that, if she didn't then surely the Tethe'Allan Chosen or Regal would.

"Dad? Are you in here?"

The man turned to the door as Lloyd walked in, the dual swordsman spotting him and responding with a smile.

"There you are, we were wondering where you went…what are you doing in here? Looking for something?"

"Yes." Kratos nodded. "Something you will need in order to use the Eternal Sword, once we have healed the Chosen."

The teen frowned a bit, eying his father.

"And that thing is…a rock?" he asked, looking around.

"A mineral to be more precise," Kratos stated with a small smirk, walking over to him. "But yes. Once we have the time you may look at it if you wish, I'm certain Raine will want to inspect it as well."

"…Aren't rocks and minerals the same thing?"

"No, we will be headed to Heimdall now, am I correct?" the Seraph asked as he walked past Lloyd to the door.

"Heim what-? Oh! The elf village, right? Yeah we were just getting ready to go," Lloyd said, following the angel out of the room. "You've been there, right? What's it like?"

"Much like Iselia actually, quaint, wooden houses, lots of greenery," he explained as they went to meet the rest of the group. "They are not big on shops like humans are, for the most part, but it's very similar."

"You really think they'll just give us the herb?" Lloyd frowned. "I mean from what I've heard elves-…don't really like non-elves. I'm sure we'll find a way to convince them but I'd like to know what we're in for."

Kratos blinked, looking at his son with his head tilted slightly to the side.

"Planning ahead, good," he nodded his approval. "You are finally learning to think before you act."

"Hey, I've been doing a lot of planning ahead for a while now." Lloyd huffed, his cheeks slightly tinted despite the dirty look.

"Yes you have," Kratos chuckled, smiling slightly as he turned his eyes back ahead. "You really have grown quite a deal since the start of all this, Lloyd."

A brief smile crossed Lloyd's face before he turned back to the door, walking out.

"Well we should get going, no time to waste, right?"

The Seraph said nothing else to him as they rejoined the group. He was beginning to feel irritated with the blatant looks of mistrust and suspicion he received from a good number of them. He had done his best to simply ignore and accept it, it was to be expected after all, yet…this whole situation had left him feeling notably more hostile than he usually was. Whether that was simply because of their hostility or perhaps some after-effect he wasn't sure, but it was a moot point at any rate.

Luckily attention was diverted from him by the village, which they all seemed to at least find interesting, having never been to an elven settlement. The only time he ever had to really draw attention to himself again was when the met with the Elf Elder.

"Kratos? What are you doing here, with these humans?"

"They are looking for mana leaf herb, is there any sored in the village at present?"

"You know him?" Lloyd looked back at him.

"Kratos has been known in this village for a very long time, young human," the elf frowned. "Why is it you seek the herb?"

"Our friend is sick and she needs it to cure her," Lloyd explained.

"I see…well if Kratos is with you I suppose I must oblige. There is none stored here as of present, however, you'll have to fetch it from the Storyteller at the gorge."

"Gorge? Storyteller?" Lloyd frowned.

"The Latheon Gorge where the Elven storyteller lives, he's akin to a historian for the elven people," Kratos explained. "It's northwest of here."

"Take this staff and show it to the gatekeeper," the old Elf said, handing it to Lloyd. "He will grant you access."

"Thank you." Lloyd took it.

"…Kratos, does the boy know?" the elf eyed the Seraph.

"..."

"Huh?" Lloyd blinked, looking back and forth between them.

"…I had visited here before and explained that if you ever came to Heimdall to offer their assistance to you, before we joined up to pact Efreet," Kratos said with a slight frown. "I told them because..."

"Because he's your son? So you told the elves to help him out? Huh, actually not a dick move from you, that's pleasant," Zelos said with a slight smirk.

"Hmph."

"Oh so it is known, I see. He looks much like you, Kratos."

"I would argue he looks more like his mother, but…thank you." Kratos finished awkwardly, just a bit tense as if he wasn't sure how to respond to that.

"Er, well, thanks for giving us permission, Elder." Lloyd cut in, addressing the old elf.

The elf responded with only a curt nod before dismissing them with a short wave of his hand toward the door. Lloyd hesitated a bit but left with his friends, getting back outside into the village. If Lloyd found the experience bothersome he didn't show any signs of it, simply packing away the staff and looking toward the entrance.

"Let's hurry up and go, I don't want to keep Genis and the Professor waiting too long."

"Yes, I hope they're okay." Colette said.

The two of them where the only ones who seemed to be acting…'normal', from what he knew of them at any rate. Zelos' suspicious gaze was always on his back, Presea and Regal, while less hostile, by no means were keeping their attention off him, they had been doing that for some time, watching him in silence. Sheena was clearly very awkward with the entire thing, but she had never been very good at deciet..or stealth. They were all rather irritating to deal with, but none of them were as bad as the half-elven professor; impossible, stubborn woman…

"Er…Hey are you okay?" Lloyd spoke up. "You've got kind of a scary look on your face."

"I'm fine, I'm merely a bit tired. Let's continue."

"I thought you didn't get tired?" Lloyd blinked, tilting his head a bit to express his puzzlement.

"I have a higher threshold for physical tiring but I do still tire, Lloyd," he said simply.

It almost made him glad to be back to 'normal' actually, that old body he had had was so very prone to exhaustion. Feeling young, if only physically, was very nice he couldn't deny. It was too bad that mentally there was no way to relieve the kind of exhaustion that came from age….

They reached the village entrance, Genis and Raine looking up as the group approached.

"Did you find it?" Raine asked.

"Er, not exactly," Lloyd said. "But we know where to get it now, there's an elf that lives in a place called Latheon Gorge and he has some."

"That's not far from here, to the north, I believe," Regal stated.

"If we hurry we should be able to get to the top before it gets dark," Zelos said. "I don't fancy climbing up or down at night though, that sounds like a bad time if I ever heard one."

"Why? Is it dangerous? I mean more than usual?" Lloyd asked.

"Well no one's really been up it but some researchers under order from the king." Sheena shrugged. "But from what we know of it there's a lot of steep and narrow trails, and there are a lot of cliffs. There's apparently some really weird plants there that eat fruit though."

"Oh..well, I'm sure it's nothing we can't handle." He grinned in response. "All right! This sounds kinda cool, I've never seen a fruit-eating plant, isn't that like, cannibalism? This sounds neat!"

* * *

"Are we at the top yet?"

Half the group expressed their exasperation with a sigh, Kratos amongst them, rubbing his temple.

"And of course he's bored," Genis muttered under his breath.

"I thought you thought the flowers were really cool?" Sheena shook her head.

"Well they are, but it's been like….hours-"

"We've been climbing for twenty minutes, Lloyd." Presea reported calmly.

"You have to pay attention, Lloyd, you might misstep-" Raine started.

"I know, I know! Geez, as if I don't get that enough from him as it is." Lloyd jerked a thumb towards Kratos, who titled his head in a slightly amused expression.

"Well, then perhaps you should listen to us," he said in a slightly lighter tone than usual.

Lloyd grumbled a bit but silenced as they continued on their way.

That lasted all of ten minutes of course, before he spoke up again.

"If this place is at the top why can't we just use the rheairds and fly there?"

"The cliff walls probably act as a wind-tunnel, making the currents turbulent," Raine explained. "If we tried to just fly down from above, the rheairds would likely crash into the walls."

"But we've been floating around in bubbles! That can't be any safer!" Lloyd exclaimed.

"The 'bubbles' are made of mana, Lloyd, the rheairds are machinery. Physical things like wind don't have as strong an effect on it, it reacts to the currents the flowers emit because they are directly in front of the source." Kratos stated, scanning the area for danger out of habit.

"How do you guys always know everything?" Lloyd shook his head, baffled.

"If you paid attention you would learn something too, Lloyd," Genis said with a snide smirk.

"Shut it!"

The climb continued for a while with no real event other than the usual chatter, Kratos keeping his position to the back where he could observe them all. It was the place he fit, he believed, when he thought about it. He did not belong amongst them like that, talking and joking about, or even walking by their sides. No, he had and would always be an outsider, but he was fine with that. It contented him to observe, to watch his son laugh and joke around with his friends. It reminded him, a bit, of back then…watching Mithos chatting with his sister, exchanging quips with Yuan, while he walked in the back with Noishe beside him.

"So this storyteller is supposed to be really old, and know a lot of the old history, right?" Lloyd asked no one in particular. "So do you think he'll like, know stuff about the ancient war?"

"That's a distinct possibility," Raine said, her eyes lighting up just a bit at the thought. "However we won't know for sure until we get there."

"Well I guess if we really needed to know anything about it we could just ask Dad." Lloyd shrugged.

Kratos tensed just a bit, beginning to say something to the teen but was cut off.

"What do you mean, Lloyd?" Presea tilted her head a bit. "Because of his knowledge from Cruxis?"

"What-? No, I mean, he was there-….oh crap."

Kratos sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as all eyes went to him. Lloyd attempted to stammer out some kind of lie to cover up for his slip, but Kratos shook his head.

"It's done with, Lloyd, they most likely would have figured it out once we reached the storyteller at any rate."

Lloyd flushed, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck.

"Sorry…."

"Wait- you're how old? I mean I figured you were old obviously but- how old?" Sheena stared.

"The Ancient War was over 4000 years ago, are you claiming you are that old?" Regal asked incredulously.

"I am," Kratos said simply. "I had already told Lloyd how old I was, given circumstances it hasn't been necessary to tell the rest of you that just yet. It's a moot point now, of course."

There was a flash through Raine's eyes and Kratos took a step back, the woman however, was surprisingly quickly near him, grabbing his arm.

"How is this accomplished? How could your skin even stay intact after 4000 years of weathering?!"

"Professor Sage, if you'd like detail I'll explain them best I can later, once we're not in the middle of a monster-infested gorge," Kratos snapped curtly, pulling his arm away from her.

"Does your body convert mana into some sort of regenerative energy-?"

"Hey, hey Genis," Zelos grinned. "Your sister is checking out Lloyd's dad."

"Raine!" Genis blurted, red in the face. "Stop! You're embarrassing m- us!"

Well, if nothing else, at least things were a tad more lively with this group than the one he traveled with before. Slightly more insane, perhaps, but in a more amusing way. They managed to get Raine to calm herself and proceed up the path once more, though the frequent, quick darting glances from the half-elf made it clear that she was going to have her time later.

* * *

"Whew….what a day, that plant was a pain…"

The rest of the group groaned and murmured in agreement, rubbing their aching limbs. Kratos silently tended to the campfire, knowing they would all need their rest for the next day. The next day which would surely be the most risky and dangerous part of their mission… He frowned, glancing up at the sky where he knew Derris-Kharlan orbited. Welgaia, Cruxis' base, they'd have to go right into the heart to get the mana fragment necessary to cure the Chosen. Not only that, but the last piece to the ring of the pact was there as well, the aoinis… No matter what happened that was needed, he had to get it, had to get it so the ring could be created and Lloyd could wield the sword. Once the ring was in Lloyd's hands, there would be only one thing left to do…

Was it wrong then, that suddenly, he was apprehensive? Was it wrong that now, after thousands of years, the idea of his death chilled him? Why was it that now, of all times, now when his death was necessary, he did not want to die? Though, really, he knew the answer to that question. His russet eyes glanced over at Lloyd, who was currently having a bandage changed by Raine, a cut he had sustained in the gorge. It would have been easier, he thought, if he had never become 'Richard'. It would have been easier if Lloyd had hated him, had labeled him off as nothing more than a traitor, and never knew who he was.

He still called him that name, that title, 'dad'. He was still calling him 'dad', even after all this. How? How could that boy- that young man- still always have it in his heart to give so many chances? How could he be so…so…much like his mother. Kratos sighed, going back to his task of readying the pot for their meal; well, their meal, he didn't have to or plan to eat. He wondered, a moment, if maybe Lloyd would be upset now… Would he? Would he be upset when he died? Angry yes, much of what he did made him angry. Especially ideas such as sacrifice, he detested the concept. Likely, the teen would blame himself for it, if he were to give his life so that the sword could be used.

There was no other way, not in this. The only way to save both worlds, to save the Chosen, to save everyone, was for Lloyd to merge the worlds and reawaken the tree. The seal was his life, he would have to die to break it. That was all there was to it, there was no stopping it. It was best, then, if Lloyd just was kept in the dark about it. There was no point in causing him to stress and worry over it when there was nothing that could be done.

He would be causing him enough pain soon enough, anyway…

**A little short, and I know I skimmed the end of Latheon Gorge but nothing really different would have happened so I figured there was no point in boring you with it. Again, sorry this is a bit short and the wait and all, but I really did have such a hard time getting this out. Next chapter should be longer, and definitely more eventful…**

**Review please? **


	17. Chapter 17

**Another chapter, whooo, we're entering the final stretch by now…**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

Lloyd fidgeted, pacing back and forth across the campsite.

"Where is he? He said he'd meet us here."

"Of course he did. He says there's something he's gotta get and then he leaves for a while and tells us to wait by the tower. That doesn't sound the least bit suspicious at all."

"I'm sorry Lloyd, but I have to agree with Zelos." Raine frowned. "Perhaps it would be best if we infiltrated Cruxis' base now. There is the possibility he has gone to set up a trap for us, if that's the case we should hurry before that happens."

Lloyd flinched, staring at her.

"What-? No- he wouldn't-"

"He did ask me about the Sacred Wood," Presea said, her voice soft yet firm. "And when we headed to the abbey he did head toward Meltokio…"

"Well if that was so important to get, why didn't we just go together to get it?" Sheena crossed her arms over her chest. "Why splitup?"

"He said that way we wouldn't waste time getting my cure…" Colette said meekly.

"That's another point. Even if he really did leave to do what he said, we don't have time as a luxury. We should go without him."

"I-…yeah," Lloyd said quietly, slumping a bit in defeat. "Yeah, we have to cure Colette. We don't have time. I'm sure he's just running late, he'll understand…"

* * *

Kratos cursed himself, ducking into an alley to hide from his pursuers. He had been foolish to go off alone. It was not that he couldn't take care of himself, not at all, but the Renegades showing up in the middle of the city like this was not something he could so easily shake off. Yuan had to be truly desperate this time, to come out into the open like this and search for him. If his goal was to release the seal, he was being foolish if he thought his men could kill him on their own. However, if they were intending to capture him somehow…

The man swore under his breath; yes, that had to be it. That's why in the middle of the city, because if he didn't hold back he could easily destroy a good portion of it, along with a number of innocent lives. While Yuan never had any reservations about killing innocents if it would assist his goals, Kratos was never particularly fond of that unless absolutely necessary. Hypocritical, he knew, but his time with his son had made him see that a bit differently. This was causing too much of a delay, the Chosen's illness would be progressing and he knew Lloyd and his group would be pressured into infiltrating Welgaia without him…

He gritted his teeth. There was no time for this, he had to get away as soon as possible. He had considered warping outside of the city but he knew Yuan would likely have accounted for that. Even if he tried to warp further away, the time it took to gather the mana would make him a clear target, even alerting the half-elven organization to his location. Flying was out as well, that would draw far too much attention. His only real option was to sneak out of the city. Either he had to sneak out with a group leaving or get over the walls somehow… Wait, that was it. He could go through the slums, it would be easier to get up on a rooftop down there and hop over the less well-kept walls. He just had to make his way there without being detected.

It was a bit easier said than done, but he had a bit more experience than the average human in regards to that sort of thing. He managed to get into the slums and even spotted an appropriate roof from where he could make his escape. After a few minutes he managed to get up on the building, then with some effort managed to run up the wall and pole-vault over the edge-

And was hit with several different electric spells before he hit the ground.

"Ugh-!" he twitched, struggling to get off the ground.

"Lord Yuan wants him alive."

Kratos attempted to reach his sword when something blunt struck him with enough force to render him unconscious.

* * *

"I told you it was a trap."

"That doesn't mean he had anything to do with it." Lloyd snapped. "And if he did, we'll find out, and I'll deal with it how I have to."

The teen drew his attention to the bars of the cage, trying once again to pick the lock with no success.

"Damn it! It won't budge! Colette! Presea! Can either of you break it?!"

"No…" he heard Colette sigh.

"I am sorry I could not be of more help…" Presea's soft voice followed.

"Move."

To their shock, Regal stepped forward and with a quick motion of his hands completely obliterated the cell wall.

"Woah-! How did you-?!"

"Let us free the others first."

"R- right."

They quickly freed their friends in the other cell, making sure that the others were all uninjured before questioning the ex-convict.

"I originally specialized in fighting with my hands, not my feet, since exspheres amplify a user's abilities, this is to be expected."

"Why don't you just fight with your hands then?" Zelos asked.

"Because I swore I would never fight with these hands again."

"Oh, right…well, thanks for helping us, Regal." Lloyd smiled. "Now let's hurry up and get that mana fragment and get out of here."

"Yes, let's hurry before they realize we've escaped." Raine nodded.

They had a little difficulty getting into the city proper, but with a little assistance from Colette they managed, only to figure out that getting around the city would be very difficult without being caught. So, they posed as Colette's prisoners and traveled about the city in that fashion.

It wasn't exactly what Lloyd would think of as a city. There were people but they were all….they all weren't there. They were all soulless, like Colette had been after the tower. That was another matter all together. How had the tower in Tethe'Alla been the same as the one in Sylvarant? Even down to that pillar that he had broken…he'd ask Kratos, he had to know. Though he hadn't seen anything of the man since they had gone to see Zelos' sister… Lloyd wanted to trust him, had tried to, but he still felt he would be being stupid if he didn't consider that maybe he really was going to betray them again, or had already…

"Lord Kratos has still not returned-"

He flinched, looking around for the speaker, which was an angel that had been floating nearby, speaking to another heartless comrade.

"It is worrisome." The other angel spoke, though had no trace of worry or any other emotion in their tone. "If something has occurred to Lord Kratos, the seal on Origin may be released and Lord Yggdrasill will be in need of another."

A seal on Origin? The king of spirits, right? There was a seal on him? What did Kratos have to do with it? Did it have to do with that sword Kratos told him about? From the sounds of it, though, they didn't know where Kratos was…

"He has been absent for a long time. Lord Yggdrasill is most displeased."

"Surely Lord Yggdrasill will punish him for leaving this time."

Lloyd felt a twinge of relief. From the sounds of it, none of them knew what Kratos had been doing or knew what he was doing now. That meant he couldn't be working with Cruxis still, right? Well, for right now he had to focus on getting Colette that mana fragment.

That was easier said than done given that the angel at the storage facility didn't quite buy that Colette or the Sage siblings were Cruxians or Desians. Luckily, their timing was just right. Pronyma contacted the angel.

"We need a fragment of mana for the Chosen's Ritual, Lord Yggdrasill has sent a courier to retrieve it." The woman said, her nose upturned and her usual condescending tone evident in her voice.

"Very well, Lady Pronyma," the angel bowed his head as the illusion disappeared.

"Yeah, that's it- that's us," Lloyd said quickly.

"Indeed," Raine cut him off. "We are getting the fragment for the Chosen's ritual as well as the exsphere research. I suggest you hurry, unless you wish to anger Lord Yggdrasill and Lady Pronyma."

That seemed to convince the angel to hand over the fragment. It was a small, flat stone that gave off a blue glow, it almost seemed to pulse. Once they had it in their possession they quickly left the area and headed for an exit.

"I wonder if we should try to get any information while we're here, it's a rare opportunity. Perhaps we could find something useful…" Raine mused to herself, her blue eyes coldly surveying the area.

"Do we really have time for that?" Zelos asked. "I don't think we have much time before they figure out we got out of the cells."

"Frankly I'm surprised they have yet to discover us, I think it be best we leave as soon as we can." Regal added with a slight frown.

"All right everyone hush," Lloyd spoke up, eying the passing angels. "We don't want anyone paying attention to us. If we pass by something we could use we'll stop real quick and see what we can find out, but if we find a way back to the ground first, we'll leave as soon as we can."

"That seems reasonable," Presea stated.

Raine sighed a bit but nodded.

"Very well, I suppose any intel won't help us at all if we don't manage to get out."

It seemed that the worlds were on Raine's side, as before they located an exit they found what appeared to be a console. The half-elven woman wasted no time in hacking into the system, bringing up several pages of info.

"That sword Kratos mentioned is in here," she stated as her fingers flew over the keys. "It's like he said, it's what cleaved the planet and what Yggdrasill uses to keep control."

"I told you he was telling the truth," Lloyd said.

"There was no harm in checking it out, I'll see if there's any new information here that we can use."

Sheena rushed over from the side, where she had been watching for any trouble as their lookout.

"Guys we need to go, I think they've noticed we broke out of the cells."

"Crap!" Lloyd said, looking at Raine. "Professor we have to go!"

The half-elf woman swore under her breath but abandoned her work and fled with the group away from the area.

Luckily they located a back-up transporder in short order and escaped the city. Though instead of finding themselves back in the seal room they found themselves in a musty, suffocating place. It was dimly lit and seemed a lot like the inside of a machine like the ECs.

"Wait- where are we?" Lloyd looked around.

"I believe we're inside the Tower of Salvation," Raine said, scanning a nearby console.

"Woah- really?"

"Well it makes sense, it's not like the tower would just be empty." Genis shrugged. "It's huge, it's a wonder how it even stays up."

"Huh, I guess I never really thought about it." The dual swordsman mused.

"Yeah well, I'm getting sick of all this weird tech stuff, let's hurry up and find a way down." Zelos huffed.

They descended the stairs and spent the next few minutes trying to figure out how to access an elevator lift they located. It was locked by some machines that were eslewhere, by the looks of it. So began the arduous task of attempting to locate them in the maze of similar corridors. It was slow going fora while, but it did give them some moments to take in where they were when they were not being attacked by security mechs.

"Are you okay, Lloyd?"

Lloyd shook his head, glancing over at the concerned face of his childhood friend.

"Wh- I'm fine, Colette, what about you? How are you feeling? I know it must be tough but we're going to get you cured as soon as we get out of this place."

"I know, I'm not worried." She smiled, then glanced out the thick glass as they strolled down the cold corridors. "I never imagined the tower would be like this, on the inside…"

"Yeah…"

They had all been surprised to see how gritty and tech-heavy the interior of the tower was. It seemed cold and without character, purely functional with no hint of any theme or style. Even though it seemed similar to Yuan's bases, even the Renegade's had a sense of…signature, to them, some kind of feel. This place felt just as cold as Welgaia, it made the stars visible through the windows seem even more foreign.

"Usually looking at the stars makes me feel safe, but…" Colette said quietly, nervously fidgeting with her fingers. "Here it just feels…"

"Cold, yeah…that's what I was just thinking." Lloyd nodded, looking out. "But at the same time…I mean, we're in space. Right? We're higher than the clouds so we're up in the stars."

The teen smiled a bit, then looked at her.

"It's scary, sure, but it is kind of awesome, I think. I mean, how many people get to go into space? You can see the stars in such a weird way but it's cool, I mean, I used to want to go up to the stars when I was little-"

Lloyd cut off and his smile turned into a slight frown.

"Are you thinking about Kratos?" Colette asked.

"I'm that obvious huh?" Lloyd rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah…I was just remembering how when I was little we'd look at the stars together. I wonder if he ever saw them from here. Though I'm pretty sure he never guessed I would see them like this."

"You're worried about him, huh? Because he didn't show up?"

He nodded and looked ahead as they walked, saying nothing. Colette was always good at reading how he felt, so it didn't surprise him when she dropped the subject. She was always good at knowing just how to handle things.

Luckily they all made it out of the tower all right, with little to no trouble from the mechanical security drones. The only time they stopped for long was when they finally made it to the seal room and turned their attention to the large purple sword pulsating from its spot before the altar.

"So is this the Eternal Sword?" Lloyd wondered, looking at it. "Yggdrasill hit me with it…is this what Kratos is trying to get for us?"

"I doubt that, who'd be dumb enough to leave something that important here?" Zelos snorted.

"Well if what Kratos said is true, no one can touch it except from the pactmaker." Raine crossed her arms and frowned at the blade. "If that's the case then it doesn't matter where it's left if no one can touch it."

"Should we try and see if we can?" Lloyd wondered.

"From the sounds of it, I don't think that would be a good idea," Raine shook her head. "For now let's just return to Altessa's and get Colette cured. We'll figure out what to do from there."

"Right. Let's hurry," Sheena said.

"Yeah." Lloyd nodded. "Besides, it'd be good to see Mithos again. We haven't even talked to him since we went back to Sylvarant to make the pact with Efreet and Sylph."

"I hope he hasn't been too lonely, I feel bad for not coming to visit," Genis said with a sigh.

"I'm sure he'll understand, we've been busy after all." Regal nodded.

Something didn't feel right to Lloyd, suddenly. Maybe it was because they had just managed to get away from that unnerving world that was Derris-Kharlan or-no he was probably just tired, a lot of stuff was going on. He'd rest a lot easier when they got Colette cured and then they could look for Kratos, if the man hadn't found them already by then. Once they were all healthy and together again, they could finally get a hold of that sword and stop Cruxis once and for all.

**Sorry it's a bit on the short side and a bit choppy, I tried to work in some new things to keep it interesting but all of this kinda needed to be done before anything really fun happens. I promise I have some juicy bits in mind for the next one , bear with me (evil scheming)**

**Review please? **


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